Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
Capital city description
Cockburn Town, also called Grand Turk, town and seat of government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, West Indies. Cockburn Town is on the west coast of Grand Turk Island, about 20 miles (32 km) directly across a channel (Turks Island Passage) from the port of Cockburn Harbour on South Caicos Island. Cockburn Town has served as the seat of government for the islands since 1766. The town’s streets and architecture reflect the historical influence of the many mariners and salt harvesters (called salt rakers) from Bermuda who first visited the area in the late 1600s and settled permanently in the mid-18th century to establish the salt industry. Some houses from the early period are still private residences; others serve as inns, the governor’s residence, and government offices. Town Pond, a saline lake, dominates the northern part of town. Its narrow arm, a series of salt evaporation ponds called the Red Salina, extends southward through the historic downtown, where government buildings, banks, churches, and commercial buildings are located. The Turks and Caicos National Museum are located near the waterfront in a historic building called Guinep House, a former private dwelling believed to date from the early 19th century. The museum displays items related to the islands’ history, cultural heritage, and natural history. It features the remains of a ship of unknown identity and provenance known as the Molasses Reef Wreck, the oldest (c. 1513) wreck of a European vessel found in the New World. Grand Turk International Airport, just south of town, receives flights from Providenciales.
Climate
The Turks and Caicos Islands have a tropical climate with two distinct seasons: a wet period and a drier period. In the soaking period, the humidity can rise considerably. The most rain falls in the last months of the year. For the rest of the year, the rainfall is very moderate compared to other islands in the Caribbean.
Languages spoken
The official Turks and Caicos language is English.
Fun/Fascinating Facts
- With its beautiful turquoise waters, white sand beaches, and tropical climate, the Turks and Caicos are located in the Caribbean. But it is located in the Atlantic Ocean—the Caribbean Sea is a long way away.
- The water is warm here. In the summer, a dip in the surf at Grace Bay Beach will be almost like taking a bath—82 to 84 degrees (28-29 degrees Celsius), to be exact! The water temperature is a little cooler in winter at about 74 to 78 degrees (23-26 degrees Celsius).
- Although the Turks and Caicos Islands are one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean, we boast nearly 400 kilometers of coastline and 40 islands.
- From January to March, the Humpbacks make their way from the northern waters of the Bay of Fundy in Canada to Silver Bank off the Dominican Republic, where they mate and calve. They travel along this migration route near Providenciales and around Salt Cay in the Turks and Caicos.
- The islands have gone through plenty of different owners. Currently, the British own the islands. However, the most commonly used on the islands is the US dollar.
Unique Customs/Traditions
- Instead of a regular yachting regatta, this race features remote-controlled model boats. The competition ran for 14 years at Bambarra Beach on Middle Caicos Island. It is now a firm fixture in the annual festival calendar of Turks and Caicos, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Even if you are not competing, the race is fascinating to watch, novel, and fun.
- The Kite Flying competition festival is held on Easter Monday (a public holiday here) and has been running for 22 years. It provides a great day out for all the family. Organizers encourage handmade kites, and the main event includes prizes for the most artistic, most significant, most miniature, and best overall kites. The festival is held at multiple locations on Grand Turk, Providenciales, and North Caicos and is very popular with the locals.
- Salt Cay Day is a traditional Caribbean island festival with a peculiarly British feel in Turks and Caicos, thanks to the country’s status as an external territory of the United Kingdom. It is held at the end of April as a traditional spring fete on the undisturbed islet of Salt Cay, near the capital island of Grand Turk. The events take place over three days and include pageants, kite flying, bicycle races, maypole dancing, and a great deal of music, food, and drink.
- Big South Regatta celebrates over the last weekend in May, and this traditional yacht regatta is open to amateurs and semi-pros. The regatta is held on the island of South Caicos, which quickly reaches the main island of Providenciales. There is nightly entertainment, including live music and cultural shows, onshore, plenty to keep all attendees occupied.
- Conch festival is the food festival that celebrates the islands’ most famous delicacy, the conch. It is held on the last weekend of November on the island of Providenciales. The conch shell is also a historical icon for Turks and Caicos and one of its few exports. The main events include sampling delicious seafood dishes made with conch and a traditional conch blowing competition among the local fishers.
Popular universities
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Charisma University | Charisma University was founded in March of 2011 by Dr. PeterChris Okpala. Charisma University is a Turks and Caicos Islands non-profit private higher institution approved by the Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Education through its Higher Education Advisory Board to offer its degree and certificate programs online and on-campus. The University is fully recognized by the Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Education as a degree-granting institution for Associate’s degrees, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, and the Doctorate along with Certificate programs. Charisma University is accredited by Accreditation, Certification, and Quality Assurance Institute (ACQUIN). Charisma University is committed to providing its students with the best and most modern education to achieve these goals. We hope to equip our students and graduates with the latest information and learning in their respective fields through our innovative online modules. With excellence at the heart of our goals, the University intends to utilize and optimize research in business, technology, legal studies, and education to advance its students, faculty, and services. The University will also be responsible for enhancing well-rounded, research-oriented academe; and thus, encourages research building among its populace. Through faculty members who are highly experienced in diverse fields, the University also plans to produce internationally competitive alumni. Additionally, the University aims to develop a global network to help establish its graduates anywhere. | |
| St. Clements University | In 1995, when St. Clements University was formed, very few Commonwealth countries allowed the registration of private distance learning universities. The only Commonwealth State, the founders, could find which would allow a private Open University to be registered - St Clements University (not St Clements University Inc. or St Clements University Ltd., etc.) was the Turks and Caicos Islands. Being a British Colony, the Turks, and Caicos Islands, their highest Court of Appeal is the Privy Council. The Privy Council has ruled that if an organization is called a University, it can issue degrees. Thus on the 16th of March, 1995, St Clements University was registered as a University company in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To validate its degrees and give them professional recognition, it has worked with several Commonwealth, notably the United Kingdom, professional qualifications awarding bodies. The United Kingdom bodies it seeks these validations from are generally listed in 'British Qualifications.' Over the past eight years, other St Clements University Group Higher Education schools have evolved from St Clements University (T&C) to become degree-granting institutions in their own right. | |
| Turks & Caicos Islands Community College | The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College was established by Ordinance 25 of 1994. It is empowered to grant diplomas certificates and other awards and enter into association or affiliation with universities, colleges, or other relevant institutions within or outside islands to fulfill its objectives. The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College is accredited by the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Ministry of Education, Youth Sports and Culture. It is a member of the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI), the Caribbean Association of Quality Assurance in Education (CANQUATE), the Association of Higher Education Institutions (ACHEA), the Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE), and the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) | |
| University College of Providenciales (UCP) | UCP opened its doors on September 8th, 2014. Founded in 2011 on Providenciales's beautiful Atlantic award-winning island, Turks & Caicos Islands, by the late Rev. E. Conrad Howell, one of TCI's shepherds, nationalist, advocate, and freedom fighters with his wife Brickell Howell, are the visionaries of UCP. Brickell Howell serves as Executive Director. Educational and career development opportunities are cornerstones to the continued growth of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our goal is to make education and training accessible to all our residents." Programs are available online and in a blended learning format. They include a Second Chance Adult High School Diploma Program for students 16yrs and older, Continuing Education Courses, Career Certifications, Diplomas, Undergraduate Certificates, and Degrees. UCP is licensed as a Non-Profit organization in the Turks and Caicos Islands and has met the criteria of the Turks and Caicos Islands Higher Education Advisory Board via the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports. UCP and our international collaborates Penn Foster College and Cengage Learning Ed2go offer numerous courses accredited by DEAC http://www.deac.org/, AdvancEd, ACTE, and the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), and CHEA, to name a few. Every day UCP embraces opportunities to form new partnerships and affiliations with collaborates with a proven record for high standards in adult learning and higher education for the continuous advancement of students and adult learners in the Turks and Caicos Islands. | |
| Victoria Global University | Victoria Global University (VGU) has been incorporated in the Turks and Caicos Island (U.K Overseas Territory) under the provisions of section 181 (1) of ordinance 1981 to undertake activities as a private institution of higher education, i.e., a private University focusing on Distance Learning and confer Diplomas. Associate, Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral & Post Doctoral Degrees to Candidates who successfully qualify for these awards. The University Council is the supreme governing body of the University and, in that capacity, determines the policies by which the University operates and reviews the University's financial performance and its parts. The strategic priorities of the University Council include mission, organizational structure, academic integrity, operational responsibility, and planning. University Council meets regularly to ensure the University's accountability to its students and conduct its general business. The formal responsibilities are detailed in the Statutes, but the Council also seeks to comply with all relevant codes of practice in the conduct and regulation of its affairs. The majority of members are independent, and whose skills, experience, and expertise reflect the full range of the University's activities. A variety of backgrounds, including the private sector, are represented with members possessing the skills and expertise necessary to ensure that the Global University of Management and Technology meets its goals and ambitions and can promote its local, national, and international interests arenas. | |
Festivals & Events
Valentine’s Day Cup
Date: February
Instead of a regular yachting regatta, this race features remote-controlled model boats. The competition ran for 14 years at Bambarra Beach on Middle Caicos Island. It is now a firm fixture in the annual festival calendar of Turks and Caicos, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Even if you are not competing, the race is fascinating to watch, novel, and fun.
Kite Flying Competition
Date: Easter Monday
This festival, held on Easter Monday (also a public holiday), has been running for 22 years. It provides a great day out for all the family. Organizers encourage handmade kites, and the main event includes prizes for the most artistic, most significant, most miniature, and best overall kites. The festival is held at multiple locations on Grand Turk, Providenciales, and North Caicos and is very popular with the locals.
Salt Cay Day
Date: first weekend of October
This traditional Caribbean island festival has a peculiarly British feel in Turks and Caicos, thanks to the country’s status as an external territory of the United Kingdom. The events take place over three days and include pageants, kite flying, bicycle races, maypole dancing, and a great deal of music, food, and drink. It is held at the end of April as a traditional spring fete on the undisturbed islet of Salt Cay, near the capital island of Grand Turk.
Big South Regatta
Date: May
Held over the last weekend in May, this traditional yacht regatta is open to amateurs and semi-pros. The regatta is held on the island of South Caicos, which quickly reaches the main island of Providenciales. There is nightly entertainment, including live music and cultural shows, onshore, plenty to keep all attendees occupied.
Caicos Classic Annual Release Tournament
Date: last week of May or early June
The waters around Turks and Caicos considers to have some of the best deep sea fishing in the world, and, as a result, the territory plays host to the world’s greatest off-shore fishing tournament, in terms of competitors at the very least. The competition is held on the last week of May or early June and has been running for 13 years. The teams line to fish for Marlin before coming ashore for party celebrations that all are welcome to join.
Conch Festival
Date: November 25th
It is held on the last weekend of November on the island of Providenciales. This food festival celebrates the island’s most famous delicacy, the conch. The conch shell is also a historical icon for Turks and Caicos and one of its few exports. The main events include sampling delicious seafood dishes made with conch. And a traditional conch blowing competition among the local fishers.
Attractions / Top Sights
https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/turks-and-caicos-islands-tci.htm
When to visit: https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/turks-and-caicos-islands-tci.htm
GRACE BAY BEACH is located on the northeast coast of the island of Providenciales. This pristine beach is the Turks and Caicos Islands' hallmark, recipient of many designations, awards, and accolades. Grace Bay currently holds the position of World Travel Awards' World's Leading Beach Destination. Over the previous decade, Grace Bay has taken first or second place in these two competitions 19 times. The entirety of Grace Bay is excellent and breathtaking, with clean turquoise water and soft white sand and no rocks, seaweed, or pollution. An extensive barrier reef is located about a mile (1.6 km) offshore, protecting Grace Bay from the ocean swells of the Atlantic, which helps to keep the water at the beach calm and safe. Grace Bay Beach is home to nearly all of the large and luxury resorts on Providenciales, and much of the boat and water sports traffic near Providenciales occurs in the shallow waters between the beach and the barrier reef.
Diving & Snorkeling
The Turks and Caicos Islands are renowned as one of the top destinations for scuba diving in the Caribbean (alongside Saba, Bonaire, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Though Providenciales is the most famous of the eight inhabited islands within the Turks and Caicos archipelago, the entire island chain consists of 40 smaller islands and cays that are a dream for underwater adventurers to explore. The Turks and Caicos Islands are famous for their crystal-clear turquoise waters, which provide tremendous underwater visibility in the Caicos Banks' marine shallows and its barrier reef—the third-largest in the world. From the best places to snorkel with whale sharks to the most pristine beaches for off-shore diving, read on for the best underwater sites to explore off the islands of Turks and Caicos. Most diving and snorkeling tours operate out of Providenciales, Grand Turk, and Salt Cay.
Chalk Sound National Park, Providenciales
Chalk Sound National Park is a highly scenic natural lagoon southwest of Providenciales. This national park features shallow and brilliant turquoise water with hundreds of small rocky islands. Chalk Sound is nearly landlocked, yet a winding channel does connect it to the ocean and Caicos Banks off the south of Providenciales. Powered watercraft use is prohibited because of Chalk Sound's protected status as a national park. The main attraction for most visitors is sightseeing by road on the southern side or as a kayaking and paddle boarding destination. The water in Chalk Sound is clean and algae-free, and The refraction of sunlight creates the incredible turquoise hues of the area's fine limestone sand and particles. Chalk Sound is also used as the name for the residential area of Chalk Sound. Bonefish and barracudas are common in the water, and stingrays and small lemon sharks can occasionally be sighted. Birdlife isn't as abundant here as in some of the other wetland areas in the country, but the far western side of the lagoon can have large numbers of gulls and terns and some herons.
Sapodilla Bay, Providenciales
Found off the south coast of Providenciales near Chalk Sound, Sapodilla Bay is a 900-foot (275 meters) long stretch of sheltered beach. The water here is very shallow, calm, and clear and is an excellent choice for families and those visiting with small children. Sapodilla Bay Beach is quiet and beautiful. This beach is a 10-mile (16 km) drive from the central tourism region and resorts of Grace Bay. Sapodilla Bay offers an exciting setting. There are luxury vacation villas on the beach, and surrounding coastal cliffs, private yachts, anchors in the bay, and the nearby Chalk Sound area is beautiful. The ocean water temp in the Turks and Caicos is always great, yet the sheltered coast of Sapodilla Bay and Taylor Bay tend to have even warmer water due to localized heating by the sun. Of course, the world-famous Grace Bay Beach sees far more guests; however, Sapodilla Bay can feel a little more crowded on busy days due to the limited extent of the beach.
Little Water Cay Tour
An exciting attraction is the nature reserve of Little Water Cay, locally known as 'Iguana Island.' This small island, or cay, is home to the few remaining Rock Iguanas that used to cover most of the islands in the Turks and Caicos. Its more oversized namesake island is Water Cay, a privately-held island. Little Water Cay is only 499 yards (456 meters) from Providenciales. It's a short trip via a tour boat or kayak from the Leeward Marina area on Providenciales to the nearby island. Big Blue Collective rents kayaks, but be aware of currents in the channel between Providenciales and Little Water Cay. However, due to boats and other people in the area, there are usually people to assist you if you have problems. Local companies offer package eco-tours which combine a visit to Iguana Island.
Swim with Stingrays at Gibbs Cay
Gibbs Cay, also known as Stingray City, is a small island located approximately 1 mile (1.5 km) off the eastern coast of Grand Turk. It is a beautiful 7-acre island, with an excellent beach on the western coast and scenic Ironshore on the east. In the center is a hill with sea oats. The attraction of Gibbs Cay is the stingrays, which appear in vast numbers whenever a boat lands. Stingrays have been in the area naturally, but their presence is encouraged by the fish and squid fed to them by tour guides. Gibbs Cay is famous around the Turks and Caicos Islands as THE place to have personal encounters with the stingrays. These beautiful and gentle creatures are very interested and will swim right up to you right off the beach. Watch as these graceful creatures approach from the small bay one by one. Explore the coral reef and get up close and personal with a myriad of colorful fish. Bar jacks, wrasses, butterflyfish, and parrotfish are just some of the many Caribbean fish you may encounter. But the real highlight of this trip is the stingrays.
Crossing Place Trail Hike, Middle Caicos
The Crossing Place Trail is a historical path that previously connected the communities of Middle Caicos and North Caicos. The trail offers spectacular views of the Mudjin Harbour and Norbellis Coves coastline, with many exciting features. The main beginning of the modern course starts at the coast near Conch Bar Village, but two trailheads also start the paved road into Middle Caicos, and one near the Dragon Cay Overlook at Dragon Cay Resort. The trail surface conditions vary a considerable amount. Near Conch Bar, the trail tends to be packed dirt, but it gradually turns rocky and sandy further along. The track slowly disappears into the low vegetation west of the blowing hole. The whole length of the Crossing Place Trail covers the amazing limestone cliff scenery and interspersed beaches of Mudjin Harbor, with many exciting spots. Dragon Cay and the adjacent overlook are considered the center of Mudjin Harbor and the most delicate landscape in the Turks and Caicos. A large open-faced cave can see above the beach, and masonry footpaths by the adjacent Dragon Cay Resort make access easy. Follow the Crossing Place Trail signs when hiking from Conch Bar Village. The Blowing Hole is a tiny body of water connected to the ocean by a 75-foot-long underwater cave. This formation was a sea cave with a hole in the roof in the past. When a giant wave would enter the cave, it would blow water high into the air. The cave's ceiling has fallen over time, but large amounts of debris collect here, and the spot is still quite interesting when the surfs up.
Mudjin Harbour, Middle Caicos
Mudjin Harbor is a three-mile (4.8 km) long section of beach and coastline north of Middle Caicos. Many consider it the most delicate landscape in the Turks and Caicos. High limestone cliffs and interspersed beaches continue from Conch Bar out to Juniper Hole on the far northwest point of the island. The immediate access to Mudjin Harbor Beach is located inside the Dragon Cay Resort. A small car park is located here, and a 500-foot (150 m) concrete walking path leads down to the beach. Several of the defining features of Mudjin Harbor are found in this vicinity: a large open-faced cave above the beach, an overlook at the top of the cliff, and the rocky Dragon Cay. Most visitors spend several hours here, as there's so much to see and explore. Another great way to experience Mudjin Harbor is to walk the historical Crossing Place Trail. This hiking path led across the area's hills, beaches, and cliffs and was part of the link that traditionally connected the Caicos Islands. The 'dragon' formation at Mudjin Harbour. The Caicos Islands sit on an underwater plateau that rises about 8000 feet (2500 m) from the surrounding ocean floor. The edge of this plateau is located directly off of Mudjin Harbor. Unlike much of the rest of the Caicos Islands coastline. Although impressive at all times, Mudjin Harbor is especially so when there's a high ocean swell. Because of this, the ocean swells break right off the beach.