Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas exists because coral collapsed into caves—and what lies beneath shapes everything above. This landlocked parish, one of only two in Barbados without coastline, contains the island's highest point at Mount Hillaby (340 meters) and its most spectacular underground feature: Harrison's Cave. The cave system, formed through dissolution of Pleistocene limestone over hundreds of thousands of years, creates the crystallized stalactites, stalagmites, and flowing underground streams that have drawn visitors since 1981. Above ground, Welchman Hall Gully represents a collapsed cave section now growing tropical forest—the two attractions are geologically connected, exposing different stages of the same karst process. The parish's name derives from General William Asygell Williams, a Welsh soldier banished to Barbados after losing at Bristol during the English Civil War in 1650. His plantation naming persisted for nearly four centuries. The gully hosts green monkeys—Barbados' endemic subspecies descended from African imports—alongside mahogany and native palms in a preserved fragment of what the island looked like before sugar transformed it. Without beaches to attract traditional tourism, Saint Thomas developed natural heritage attractions that now represent some of Barbados' most visited sites. The 160-foot underground tram descent into Harrison's Cave offers experiences impossible elsewhere on the island. By 2026, Saint Thomas may increasingly position itself as the sustainable tourism alternative—caves and gullies rather than beaches—as coastal parishes face climate vulnerability and development pressure.