St Helena’s natural environment is of global importance. 500+ species of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Britain’s last natural cloud forest. A world’s diversity of landscapes and microclimates in a tiny space. Fresh, clean air.
A lack of light pollution, allowing world-renowned stargazing.

La nature

Biodiversity

St Helena is home to more than 1/3 of the unique species found in the whole of the UK and its Overseas Territories.

This means more than 500 species of plants and animals are found nowhere but on St Helena. From the tiny Blushing Snail to the island’s last remaining endemic land bird (the Wirebird), St Helena nurtures an incredible inventory of unique wildlife backdropped by breath-taking natural views.

A wealth of environmental work goes on to restore and protect St Helena’s unique species. This is especially important because, as the island is so small, the populations of St Helena’s unique species are also very small: Meaning many are listed as endangered.

Whether you are hiking to the highest peak on island, or snorkelling in our warm waters, you’re sure to be amazed by the biodiversity of St Helena.

Géologie

The island first surfaced around 12 million years ago, as the tip of a volcanic mountain emerged above sea level. St Helena was shaped by this ‘older’ volcano, as well as one a few million years younger.

Today, both are extinct. However the island remains a demonstration of how volcanoes, lava flows, landslides and erosion craft breathtaking peaks, valleys, ridges, cliffs and black sand beaches: an awe-inspiring intricacy of scenery, even within such a tiny landmass. The island reaches more than 3 miles above the ocean floor, and elevation above sea level rises to 820m. Viewed from the sea, St Helena’s stark and rocky exterior rises abruptly and magnificently from an otherwise uninterrupted expanse of ocean. Constant erosion at its exterior has left layer upon layer of geological history – four or five millions years of its volcanically active life – clearly exposed.

In its interior, dramatic rock formations like ‘Lot’ and ‘Asses Ears’ tower above the landscape. Altered lavas and ashes create colourful, undulating ‘paint palettes’ along the hillsides. You can walk the same paths that Charles Darwin trod, viewing the same geological formations described in his 1844 Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands.

Observation des oiseaux

Bird watching is a popular activity on St Helena.

The St Helena Plover – locally named ‘the Wirebird’ due to its long, wiry legs – is the island’s national bird and last remaining endemic land bird with a total population of around 650.

A number of seabirds are also endemic to St Helena, and white terns, masked boobies and red-billed tropicbirds are other popular sightings.

St Helena’s birdlife can be enjoyed from both land and sea.

Stargazing

The quality of St Helena’s night sky is exceptional. The Milky Way is so clear that it could be mistaken for a cloud.

The island’s location near the Equator, coupled with minimal air and light pollution, means that nearly every star in both the northern and southern hemispheres can be seen at some point in the year.

Thanks to its ideal night sky-viewing location, St Helena has historically been visited by astronomers like Edmond Halley, and today still attracts stargazers and astronomers from around the globe. Today, you can visit the historic sites marked as Halley and Maskelyne’s observatories, or simply remember to ‘look up’ once darkness falls.

To protect St Helena’s night skies, light pollution is limited by local legislation.

Landscape

The diversity of scenery and microclimates within such a small space is astounding. The centre of the island rises up to 820m (twice the height of the Eiffel Tower) above sea level. This central region is a misty, Jurassic-like habitat, the Peaks National Park, which is also the last remaining natural cloud forest on British soil. It is populated with plants and invertebrates found nowhere else on Earth. Standing at the highest point of this lush central forest, you can see the entire island spreading out around you and falling away into the endless Atlantic in every direction.

From this vantage point – as well as many others across the island – the diversity of landscapes and microclimates is clear.

Deep forest greens fall away into warm, rolling pastureland that cascades gently into barren valleys and ridges; and the island’s stark and rocky coastline, meets crashing white sea spray before the deep-blue Atlantic takes over.