Montserrat

Montserrat is mountainous island in the Caribbean Sea, located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles. Montserrat is often referred to as the Emerald Island of the Caribbean. Montserrat is currently an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Its official name is the Crown Colony of Montserrat. Zone, open during the day, extends from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley and provides visitors with a spectacular view of the volcano and the destruction. A new airport at Geralds in the northern part of the island opened in 2005.

Small and lightly populated, Montserrat is one of the Eastern Caribbean's least developed and touristed islands. Rolling hills, mountains and valleys make it pleasantly rural and green. Fittingly, the influence of the early Irish settlers remains noticeable, reflected in commercial and official documentation and in surnames and place names. Plymouth, the capital, and the island's only 'real' town, has an appealing West Indian flavour, with narrow, curving streets lined with period buildings. A visit to the public market is a must. The rest of the island lives up to Montserrat's promotional claim that it's 'the way the Caribbean used to be. A relaxed and unhurried lifestyle is the main attraction, along with hikes into the mountainous interior, a few historic sites, a sulphur-belching crater and the odd black-sand beach. Entry visas are required for citizens of Haiti, Cuba and former Soviet bloc countries.