Virgin Gorda: Tortola

Virgin Gorda is the second most populated island in the British Virgin Islands and is known for its natural beauty and awe-inspiring topography. The island itself is known by many as the “Fat Virgin” as this what Christopher Columbus used to call it. Supposedly, from a distance the island looks like a woman laying down on her side, showing off her hourglass figure. The centrepiece of this dramatic area on Virgin Gorda's north shore is The Baths, a geological wonder comprised of awe-inspiring granite boulders, which form sheltered sea pools on the beach's edge. The protected area also includes Devil's Bay, which can be reached from The Baths by a series of ladders scaling the boulders. Just north of The Baths, Spring Bay is reached by a separate road and includes a lovely white sand beach. Encompassing the beaches and rocky shoreline at the southwestern tip of Virgin Gorda, The Baths is a collection of massive granite boulders as large as 40 feet in diameter, with white sand beaches and secret rock pools. The cavernous surroundings are a result of the molten rock seeping up into the existing volcanic rock layers; because the molten rock did not reach the surface it cooled slowly and formed the hard crystalline granite layer. Further shrinkage and cracking formed blocks, which were exposed when the softer volcanic rock above eroded away. Weathering rounded the corners of the boulders to what they are today. These massive boulders are also found at Fallen and Broken Jerusalem. A