Middle Caicos Attractions
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Middle Caicos, at 48sq mi/124sq km is the largest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and has the most dramatic coastline. Limestone cliffs with long sandy beaches are in the north. The south is dominated by swampland and tidal flats.The island is green from plentiful rain and ideal for crops such as corn, cassava, sapodillas and sugar apples. Middle Caicos is home to the largest caves in all Turks and Caicos near the settlement of Conch Bar. There are two other settlements on the island, Bambarra and Lorimers with a combined population of about 275.
Conch Bar Caves National Park
This park protects 15mi/24k of underground caverns, one of the largest cave systems in the Caribbean region. Some have lagoons and stalactites and stalagmites and most have colonies of bats. They were used as sacred sanctuaries by the Lucayan Indians, who left petroglyphs on the walls.
Mudjin Harbour
One of the most photographed places on the Turks and Caicos, Mudjin Harbour is a half-moon lagoon with breathtaking limestone cliffs overhanging the sandy expanse of beach that links up to an off-shore cay.
Armstrong Pond Village Historical Site
At the Armstrong Pond Village Historical Site are the remains of a huge Lucayan Indian settlement, one of at least 38 pre-Columbian sites on the island. Armstrong Pond excavated in 1978 contains a Lucayan ball court, unknown elsewhere in the Caribbean. Artifacts recovered from the caves suggest that they were used either as shelter or sacred places.
Middle Caicos Crossing Place Trail
A coastal path with hiking and biking trails follow the old path from the village of Lorimers to the place where long ago people crossed the sandbars to North Caicos. The 5mi/8km trail leads along coastal headlands, down beaches and through inland bush. Recently re-opened Crossing Place has become an avenue for commerce and contact with the islands beyond Middle Caicos.
Settlements of Bambarra Conch Bar, and Lorimers, Turks and Caicos Islands
The settlement of Bambarra was established on the north shore of Middle Caicos in 1842 by survivors of the shipwreck of the Gambia, a Spanish slaver bound for Cuba. "Bambarra" refers to the Bamberra people who lived on the shores of the Niger River in West Africa. About 375 people live in the villages of Conch Bar and Lorimers and Bambarra.
Vine Point & Ocean Hole Nature Reserve
The southern half of Middle Caicos is composed of large intertidal swamplands. Off-shore, Vine Point & Ocean Hole Nature Reserve protects a frigate-bird breeding colony, plus a 210ft/63m deep, 1,200/360m wide marine blue hole favored by turtles and sharks.
