One of the World's Most Remote Islands Is Now More Accessible Than Ever
Until 2017, the only way to reach Saint Helena was by sea—a six-day voyage from South Africa.
Photo: Jethro Kiernan
Though best known as the island where Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled and ultimately died, Saint Helena's historical footnote belies a far richer identity—one rooted in extraordinary natural beauty. When Charles Darwin landed on its shores in 1836 as part of his round-the-world HMS Beagle expedition, he marveled at its otherworldly biodiversity. Saint Helena, he wrote, was a 'remarkable' place that 'excites our curiosity.' How right he was. Roughly the size of San Francisco, the island is home to more than 500 endemic species of flora and fauna—25 times more per square kilometer than the Galápagos Islands, whcih famously helped shape his theory of evolution.
Stepping onto the tarmac, the first sensation is of alpine-fresh air, laced with a salty fret that drifts in from the South Atlantic. Forged by volcanic eruptions that ceased around seven million years ago, Saint Helena rises dramatically to 800 meters above sea level. I drive north along a steep, slaloming road to Jamestown, the capital—a cluster of Georgian buildings ensconced within one of the deep, narrow ravines that define the island's singular topography.
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