Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph operates as Barbados' surfing capital and botanical showcase—an east coast parish where Atlantic power creates the Caribbean's most celebrated wave while rugged terrain preserved ecological diversity impossible elsewhere on the island. Bathsheba, the parish's fishing village of 5,000 residents, hosts the Soup Bowl: a reef break producing barreling waves that draw professional surfers from around the world and anchor a calendar of international competitions. This marine feature represents keystone habitat creation—the specific bathymetry and exposure generate wave conditions that concentrate surfing culture and supporting businesses in ways that transform the parish's economic identity. The parish straddles Barbados' central highland ridge, with Chimborazo and Bissex Hill marking the island's most elevated terrain. Three world-class botanical gardens—Flower Forest, Hunte's Gardens, and Andromeda—exploit the parish's varied microclimates to maintain tropical plant collections serving both tourism and conservation functions. Andromeda Botanic Gardens, overlooking the Atlantic since 1954, hosts one of the Caribbean's most important collections of tropical flora. Cotton Tower Signal Station marks the parish's role in historical communication networks, while Barclays Park provides public beach access in a parish otherwise dominated by dramatic cliffs. The natural rock pools carved into inshore coral reefs at Bathsheba create accessible swimming areas even when Atlantic swells make open water dangerous. From the 1970s, local surfers including Mark Holder developed the Soup Bowl's potential, transforming a fishing village into a destination that now hosts international competition circuits.