The Turks and Caicos islands, offers visitors a natural beauty without comparison, including these islands are classified as the best tourist site of the planet, the islands have the largest coral reef in the world, a few beaches, blue crystalline waters and white sand very fine, here you’ll find lots of places to visit as many national parks where you can dive and see the wealth of its marine fauna, you’ll also find the gentleness of its people, that is why we invite you to know through this article a little more about these incredible islands that are located in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Many hotels on Turks and Caicos have gone the way of from hotel grand openings to the world’s newest luxury hotels, and are now ready to offer tourists from all over the world the highest level of service.
So, let’s go…
Where are the Turks and Caicos Islands located?
The Turks and Caicos Islands are located southeast of Mayaguana Island which belongs to the Island of the Bahamas and north of Hispaniola Island, which is where the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located, it is located 1,042 kilometers southeast of Miami in the United States. The capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands is Cockburn Town.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are located in the archipelago of the Lucayas they comprise eight main islands and more than twenty islands or small islets, totaling 958 km2, its surface is dominated by limestone, swamps, mangroves and has 330 kilometers of coastal area, the Turks and Caicos Islands are physically separated by the sea passage of the Turks.
The number of inhabitants on the islands is approximately 55,926 people, with a population density of 550 hab /km2, the official language is English but Turks and Caicos Creole is also spoken, the ethnic composition is distributed in 87% of Afro-descendants, 7.9% whites, 2.5% mestizos, 1.3% East Indians and 0.7 other ethnic races. 86% of the inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos Islands are Christians of the Baptist, Church of God, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations, 14% are made up of other beliefs.
The Turks and Caicos islands is an overseas territory belonging to the United Kingdom, the governor of the island is the Head of Government and is appointed by queen Elizabeth II, the Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor, there is the figure of Deputy Governor whose function is to be the head of the public administration and is accountable directly to the Governor. Each island, with the exception of the Gran Canaria and Providenciales Islands, has a District Commissioner who is responsible for the administration and control of each district government.
History of the Island
The first inhabitants of the islands of the Turks and Caicos, it was the people indigenous Lucayan Taino, they belonged to the arawak ethnicity, on the records kept by Christopher Columbus, indicates that arrived on the islands in the year of 1492, and then to the year 1512,the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León also documented the activities carried out in the islands; for the SIXTEENTH, SEVENTEENTH and EIGHTEENTH centuries, the islands were the domain of the Spanish, the French and the british, however, none of the governments monarchists for the dates made settlements on the islands.
For the year 1860, the island was under French occupation, many of the slaves in Bermuda, they took refuge in the Islands of the Turks and Caicos and activities were initiated in the collection of sea-salt to the beginning of the EIGHTEENTH century, the island served as a refuge for pirates who sailed the waters of the caribbean and for the years of 1775 to 1783, many british loyalists to the English crown, who were involved in the war of the american revolution, took refuge in the islands, these being the first european settlers to inhabit permanently Turks and Caicos islands.
In the year of 1799 the Turks and Caicos Islands were administratively annexed to the island of the Bahamas, the Spanish ship Trouvadore was wrecked in the year of 1841 on the shores of East Caicos, it came with n 192 enslaved Africans, they survived the sinking and managed to reach land, by that time the sale of slaves was prohibited since in the year of 1835 the abolition of slavery was established, so the Africans were released and received training as slave apprentices. trades on the islands of Grand Turk.
From the year of 1873 the Turks and Caicos Islands were annexed to the British colony of Jamaica, when Jamaica acquired its independence the islands became dependent again on the British colony of Bahamas; when in the year of 1973 the island of the Bahamas obtained its independence the Turks and Caicos Islands became directly a British colony to later become a Dependency and British Overseas Territory until today, the year 1982 the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands held a referendum to request British independence, the winning option was to remain a Dependency and British Overseas Territory.
Turks Islands
The name of the island Turks comes from the native cactus cabeza del turco or Melocactus intortus, whose upper part is red and resembles a Fez or hat used by the Turks. The island has 4% of the territory and it is inhabited by 18% of the total population of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Trucas Island has two districts which are indicated below:
Cay Sal is located in the District Balfour Town, is the second large island of the islands of the Turks, its dimensions are 7 km2 and an approximate population of 686 inhabitants, the district also comprise small uninhabited islands like cayo cotton and other smaller sizes, for a total of 9 km2, cayo Salt is that it is a flat island in the form of a triangle, the economic activity of the island are the salt flats.
This economic activity is generated from its beginnings when it was inhabited by the indigenous ethnic group of the arawak indians, when the europeans arrived they brought with them diseases for which the island was uninhabited, then the slaves that fled to the islands of Bermuda continued with the production of salt, the british colony made use of the salt in the year of 1766, the salt Cay Salt were used for the conservation of food in the War of Independence of the united States.
At the present time the production of salt is almost disappeared, the ruins of the salt companies can be seen. The economy of the island is purely tourist, due to the beauty and tranquility of its beaches which are conducive to water sports and snorkeling and diving activities.
Grand Turk Island, where the District and the Capital Cockburn Town are located, has an approximate population of 13,700 inhabitants, the islands have dimensions of 18 km2. In the vicinity of Grand Turk Island, the Friendship 7 capsule landed, which belonged to the Mercury moon Conquest Project and for that event on the island aroused great tourist interest. A replica of that capsule is located at the island’s airport.
Caicos Islands
The name of the island Caicos originates from the indigenous word of the Arawak people that means Chain of Islands, it has the largest land area of the Turks and Caicos Islands, with 96% of the area and 82% of the total population, it has four districts which are indicated below:
Caicos Central is the District Conch Bar, this island is also known as the Great Caicos because it is the island with greater dimensions, its surface is 144,2 km2 when it is above the high tide and of 294 km2 when the tide is low, the population is about 1020 residents, local populations that includes Caicos Central is Lorimers, Bambarra and Bar Conch which is the capital of the District.
Caicos North is the District of Bottle Creek, it is the third island with the greatest dimensions, also known as the Garden Island because it has the greatest amount of vegetation on the islands of The Lucayas, has a surface area of 116,4 with an approximate population of 2895 inhabitants, one of their places of tourist interest is the Cottage Pond, Wades Green Plantation and the small islands of the Three Marys that are within walking distance of the north western coast of puerto rico in the North, in this island is located the airport and Caicos islands in the North.
Best beaches
All the beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands are spectacular, but if you see these islands you can not miss to know:
Grace Bay Beach
Grace Bay Beach, is located in the northern area of Providenciales Island, is classified by TripAdvisor, CNN and Conde Nast Travel, as one of the best beaches worldwide, it is a virgin beach, its waters are clean and crystal clear, it does not have any rocks or algae, it is a very quiet beach since at a distance of 1.5 kilometers there is a coral barrier that protects the beach from the waves produced by the Atlantic Ocean.
Grace Bay Beach which belongs to the Turks and Caicos Islands has 4.8 kilometers of coastline, this beach is part of the Princess Alexandra National Park, Grace Bay Beach has the services of restaurant, chairs, umbrellas, kayak rental and parasailing which is an activity in which the person is subject to a parachute from a boat, this is one of the best ways to see the beach, flights can be booked directly on the beach.
The Port of Mudjin
The port of Mudjin is located to the north of the island of puerto rico, a pristine beach, beautiful, and with a moderate swell, there you will find cliffs, and forests are very dense, the beach has white sands and waters of all shades of blue, has more than 2 km of coastline, we can observe a large number of birds and fish, a few meters from the beach there is a rocky island, to the same you can get to walking or kayaking, the beach is ideal for swimming, diving, kayaking or surfing, it is a recommended place for the entire family, as it is a virgin beach there are no services for hotels and restaurants, the closest town to the Mudjin port beach is located 20 kilometers away, so it is important that when you visit it you take your food, water and sunscreen, since no service is provided at the place. But some private bungalows can be found for affordable prices there, check some of them at https://karta.com
