VIRGIN GORDA BATHS – Official Visitors Information Forum
Virgin Gorda Baths – Virgin Gorda BVI – Tortola Cruise Ship Excursion and Virgin Gorda Guide

Virgin Gorda Baths Snorkel Tours

Jost Van Dyke Beach Tours

Laminated Baths Trail and Snorkel Map

Spring Bay at the Virgin Gorda Baths

The Baths and Virgin Gorda BVI Official Visitors Guide for Tortola Cruise Ship and Resort Guests. The Baths National Park on Virgin Gorda is the most popular tourist destination in the BVI and is situated about 1.2 miles (2 km) south of “Spanish Town”; the largest settlement on the island.  The rugged sea front area consists of approximately 1.5 square miles of exceedingly rocky terrain and is located on a peninsula at the southwestern tip of the island between Spring Bay and Devil’s Bay. “The Baths” are a unique playground for the limber of body and young at heart because of its unique geologic formations made of giant granite boulders and saltwater filled pools.  Some naturalists have called it the Eighth Wonder of the World and it is far and away at the top of the list of the BVI’s most visited major tourist destinations.   The genesis of the Baths can be seen in the distance only three miles away at the crest of the 1,700’ Gorda Peak.  A long-ago eruption of this volcanic summit scattered an array of various size boulders along the southwestern corner of Virgin Gorda and created the foundation of the Baths.  Literally millions of years of rising and falling tides and sea levels has managed to erode and strip away all of the softer volcanic rock surrounding the granite until now only the famous field of oversize stones remain.  Between the granite boulders tourist enjoy some fascinating tidal pools for swimming and low level tunnels for passageways.

Devils Bay Granite Boulders at The Baths

Some of the creases open up to reveal spectacular vistas that peer out into the surrounding turquoise sea.  There is a main trail that traverses between Spring and Devil’s Bays that includes extremely tight squeezes, vertical wooden ladders and rope hand rails that pull you up and down into the huge open caverns.  There are also two other trails; one that leads from the parking lot a the “Top of the Baths Restaurant down to Spring Bay and a second that is much longer that meanders around the western edge of the park before finally meeting up with the boulder trail at Devils Bay.  Along all of the trails some of the boulders have a circumference of over 200’, while others have cavities carved into them the size of a semi-trucks that resemble something you might expect to see on the Moon or even Mars.

Spring and Devil’s Bays

The Beach at Devils Bay Virgin Gorda Baths

Devils’ Bay is a small cove with a perfect sand beach that stretches 150 yards in length.  It lies at the southwestern end of the Baths and is at the end of the winding trail from Spring Bay.  Spring Bay is actually further to the northeast of the actual Baths area, but the tip of the Bay borders the Baths and the small Bay that marks the NE edge is nameless and often called Spring Bay.  If you ask people at the cove its name you will get a handful of interpretations and as of now, I have determined that there is no official name for the spot and I am tempted to name it Baths Bay, but that would confuse the issue even more, so its best to leave the name Spring Bay.  Having said this, Spring Bay actually runs to the NE from the Baths area for about a half a mile and includes a long expanse of the most spectacular palm laden beach in the entire Caribbean.  The Bay is also a BVI National Park, but just beyond the palms that line the beach are some of the most expensive private villas on Virgin Gorda.  During the winter months, it’s common to see hundreds of visitors passing down the trail between the two bays that in many places only allows for one-way traffic.  When crowded, the hike between the two picturesque bays can take up to an hour.  Normally, during less crowded periods, the walk can be accomplished in 10 minutes.  When not on the trail you’ll find visitors climbing out on the rocky outcrops along the way to snap pictures, or sunning on the two sandy beaches and snorkeling between the huge sunken boulders that also litter the bottom of the Bays.  The water at the Baths can be rough for swimming and there is a flag system that will tell you if swimming is not permitted.  When a red flag is set flying on the tall flagpole at the edge of Spring Bay, it signals that the north swell is very heavy and that the surf is too dangerous for swimming, or snorkeling.

Snorkeling and Swimming

Green Sea Turtle Cruising at the Baths

Although the Baths is not among best snorkel reefs in the BVI, it’s still well worth the plunge due to the several enormous underwater boulders that harbor just enough colorful coral to attract numerous tropical fish.  Larger sea-life like the Green Sea Turtles, Southern Sting Rays, Eagle Rays, Manta Rays, Nurse Sharks and bottle-nose dolphins are frequently encountered in the waters surrounding the Baths and are all safe to observe at a close distance.  For experienced snorkelers there are two unique swim through tunnels on either side of Devil’s Bay to attempt when the waters are calm.  The large tunnel on the east point of the bay is the shorter of the two and is approximately 12′ deep and 20′ long.  The tunnel to the west end of the bay is set at the same depth, but smaller in diameter and nearly 30′ in length and should only be attempted by advanced snorkelers.  Tortola Charters have professional guides that take willing guests through the easiest tunnel during their snorkel trips to the Baths, but all snorkelers should be careful not to bump their heads when braving this plunge and equalizing your air pressure is necessary for both dives.

Staying Safe at the Baths

Red Flag Conditions at the Baths

A few noteworthy tidbits for snorkeling the Baths; first there is a 4′ nurse shark that lives in and about the Baths towards the east edge of Devil’s Bay.  I have made hundreds of snorkels around the shark and affectionately call her ”Nurse Betty”.  On numerous occasions she has come up to me on the surface and allowed me to hold her with both hands.  Once I had a dozen fellow snorkelers with me from the Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship who were able to pet the large shark while she laid in my arms.  Still on other days she is much more tentative and even aggressively illusive when I try and approach her on the bottom.  Warning – even though I have had dozens of safe and close encounters with Betty, I still do not encourage people to actively approach her and touch her as I have done. Nurse Sharks have plates instead of large teeth and they use them for crushing the shells of crustaceans and small crabs.  They can hurt you – so be warned!   Secondly and probably much more hazardous are the endless stream of small power boats that frequent both bays on their way from charter boats to the beach.  You can normally hear the motors of many of these small craft as they approach, but with the newer four-stroke engines they are much less noisy and it is a good cautionary move to periodically peek up above the water line and look around to keep abreast of the traffic.

Snorkeling at the Baths on a Calm Day

Having said all of this the Baths are a very safe snorkel on calm days having several snorkeler around adds to the safety of each individual.  The third warning I have is that the Baths are subject to a nasty north swell – especially during the winter months.  Storms in the North Atlantic Ocean create huge swells – some as large as 10′ and these walls of disturbed water travel thousands of miles unimpeded before crashing upon the rocks and beaches of the Baths.  These are Red Flag conditions at the National Park and it is advisable to not tempt fate and brave the surf for swimming or snorkeling.  On these days it is best to just enjoy the trails and rocky outcrops for spectacular photo opportunities and stay out of the water altogether.  If your planning a day at the Baths make sure to carry your snorkel gear with you.  I’ve discovered that the best way to see both bays in a couple of hours is to start at Spring Bay and snorkel to the southwest with the current (which can be strong) around to Devil’s Bay and then carry your snorkel gear in hand through the trail back to where you started at Spring Bay.  I have created a Baths Trail Map and a Baths Snorkel Map that might be helpful for first time visitors to get the most out of their trips.  Many guest find it helpful to print the map and care it with them on the trip.  If you want a laminated copy as a souvenir you can purchase from our site the map, plus lots of other Baths Souvenirs.  We offer a laminated 5×7 card that has a shore map on one side and snorkel map on the other side.  It has a hole punched in it so you can put a string on it and wear it as you explore the Baths.  We also off all sorts of gear including rash-guards with prints of the Baths that are perfect for snorkeling.

History and Geological Formation

Unique Boulder Formations at The Baths

The chain of mountainous islands known as the Virgin Islands began to form approximately 120 million years ago as the result of volcanic action. However, the granite boulders of Virgin Gorda did not appear until the Tertiary Period, approximately 50 million years after the eruptions began. At that time magma (molten rock) intruded into the newly formed layers of lava on the seabed of the Caribbean Sea. The accumulation of pooling magma gradually formed huge sections of a type of granite called granodiorite, consisting mainly of feldspar and quartz materials. As late as 15 to 25 million years ago, the granodiorite was exposed by tectonic uplift and erosional removal of overlying rock from the underlying harder minerals. As the granite cooled it began to fracture forming the blocks now seen at the Baths.  Normally, these fractures only reveal fractures less than a few feet in distance. At southwestern corner of the island of Virgin Gorda, the temperature fractures are spread wider, than normal and this has combined with the even texture and lack of granular structure within the stone called granodiorite, to create the over-sized granite boulders known as the Baths.  Originally, these boulders were more massive. Over time the boulders began to break down even further to leave the relatively smaller boulder that is visible today.  Because the mineral Granodiorite is relatively exceptional in the West Indies and when they do appear they are found in much smaller and less frequent numbers as found at the Baths.  For this reason alone, the Baths are a unique and spectacular natural phenomenon.

Giant Boulders on the Baths Trail

As 15 to 25 million years pounded the granodiorite with tremendous natural forces such as weathering and erosion, the boulders came to smooth over their rough fractured edges.  Rainwater was one of the most important sources of erosion because as it falls, the rain reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and a very weak form of carbonic acid results that sort of washes the rocks. With the exception of quartz, all of the minerals which form granite react readily with carbonic acid, and erosion and pitting, as well as fluting of the boulders occur at a geologically rapid pace. If you look closely at the surface of the boulders as you pass through the site, you will notice that in many places the rough surface appears to be flaking. The roughness is caused by particles of quartz which are in the processed of being exposed, but they are still held in place by the minerals still not completely eroded away from around them.

Large caves carved out of the rocks with a massive tunnel through one of the boulders are additional features of the area known as the Baths. Strong sea winds blowing their salted air have hollowed out the boulders due to a consistent easterly and southeasterly plastering. These also provide additional moisture on the exposed rock face, resulting in the accelerated erosion which gradually develops a ledge or canopy on the face of the rock. Dampness within the shaded canopy furthers the erosion and hollowing process. After several million years, this steady erosion has created the substantial caves we see today.

Virgin Gorda Baths Snorkel Tours

Jost Van Dyke Beach Tours

Laminated Baths Trail and Snorkel Map

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