St. Helena

The island's highest area, a protected national park centred on twin peaks at 823 metres, where endemic wirebirds, ancient tree ferns, and the native cabbage tree forest create an atmosphere more reminiscent of a wet Scottish highland than a mid-Atlantic island.

A substantial British military fortification above Jamestown, built in the 1870s on the site of earlier defences, with thick stone walls, a moat, and panoramic views over the town, the sea, and the interior of the island.

A steel railway staircase of 699 steps rising from Jamestown up the valley wall to the former military barracks at Lupper, once used by soldiers to descend to and ascend from the town without disturbing the residents.

Saint Helena's compact capital, founded in 1652, lines a narrow valley between steep volcanic ridges and is reached by a single road from the interior. Its Georgian terraced houses and the historic Quarter of the Wharf create one of the most complete colonial settings in the South Atlantic.

The house where Napoleon Bonaparte lived in exile from 1815 until his death in 1821, now preserved as a museum and surrounded by the golf course that was laid out after his departure. It stands in the rolling interior of the island, far from the sea and from Jamestown.

The most accessible and popular beach on Saint Helena, a black volcanic-sand cove on the island's south-western coast, sheltered by high cliffs and accessible down a steep zigzag path from the clifftop road. The water is clear and cold, and the bay is a favourite spot for swimming, snorkelling and fishing.