The Baths, Virgin Gorda

Granite boulders the size of houses sit half-drowned at the south end of Virgin Gorda. Some are stacked against each other, and the gaps between them have filled with clear, waist-deep water. You walk through the gaps. That is the whole thing, and it is better than it sounds.

The trail from the beach runs under and between the rocks. In places you are ducking. In places there is a wooden ladder or a rope to hold, because the floor is wet sand and the light comes down in shafts from wherever the boulders do not quite meet. The Cathedral Room is the part people photograph: a shallow pool, light coming through a gap overhead, and the sound of water moving somewhere you cannot see. Most people take under an hour end to end at a slow pace, stopping.

You do not need to swim well — the deepest water is about waist-high. You do need sure footing: there are ladders, ropes, and boulders to climb over and duck under, and the rock can be slick where water runs over it. Take it slowly and most people manage it without trouble.

When to go

Early. The Baths is the one place in the British Virgin Islands where the hour matters more than the day. Arrive in the morning and you may have the Cathedral Room to yourself for a few minutes. Arrive mid-afternoon and you are queuing behind people in the narrow sections. Coming in by boat is the advantage: you are already there when the day starts, instead of arriving by road with everyone else.

What to bring

Reef-safe sunscreen, on before you go ashore. Something on your feet you do not mind soaking, because the granite is smooth and slick where water runs over it. A hat. That is genuinely all of it. There is nothing to carry and nowhere to put it down.

Devil's Bay

Devil's Bay is the beach at the far end of the trail, and it is the reason to keep walking rather than turning back at the Cathedral Room. Sand, calm water, and a swim before you head back through the boulders.

Planning your day

The Baths sits naturally alongside the rest of a Virgin Gorda day. See where Aquanimity sails in the BVI, or read about Oil Nut Bay and Saba Rock at the north end of the island.