Cockburn Town Tourist Attractions
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Cockburn Town is the administrative capital and the historic and cultural center of the Turks and Caicos. The homes and public buildings that line the narrow streets offer many fine examples of Bermudian-style colonial architecture, an influence of the Bermudian salt trade from the mid-1600s to the early 1900s.Cockburn Town is reputed to be the landfall island of Columbus during his discovery of the New World in 1492.
Turks and Caicos National Museum and Museum Arboretum
Located in one of the oldest stone buildings on the islands, the Turks and Caicos National Museum chronicles the country's life, the Molasses Reef wreck, the oldest in the Western Hemisphere and offers the world's only gallery dedicated to the indigenous Lucayans.Next door is the Museum Arboretum which features examples of native and imported plants and trees such as Sea Island Cotton, Sisal, Aloe Vera, Buttonwood and Sea Grape.
Columbus Landfall National Park
Columbus Landfall National Park is an underwater park great for scuba diving and populated by lots of exotic fish. Columbus's ship, the Niña, was shipwrecked on his historic voyage. A shipwreck on Molasses Reef, about 50 mi/80km west of Grand Turk fits the description of the Niña and scientists are in the midst of determining whether this is Columbus's famous ship.
Turks and Caicos - Molasses Reef Wreck
Situated on the remote southwest rim of the Caicos Bank, Molasses Reef is a natural ship trap, where the earliest European shipwreck in the Western Hemisphere has been completely excavated from the reef.The Molasses Reef ship was armed with heavy artillery, crossbows, swords and grenades.Superior armament was the key to explorers' success as it enabled them to impose their will on the peoples they met during their explorations and to defend themselves from similarly-armed pirates. The Molasses Reef wreck may be Columbus's ship The Niña.
Columbus Monument
The Columbus Monument claims that the explorer landed in Cockburn Town in 1492. Nearby, four large cannons point to where a protected coral reef is contained within the Columbus Landfall National Park.
Cockburn Town Post Office
The General Post Office's Philatelic Bureau has the famed beautiful Turks and Caicos stamps to admire.
Front Street
Front Street in Cockburn Town features architectural landmarks dating to the 18th C.
Cockburn Town Pictures
