Bahamas

Overview

The Bahamas is an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, made up of about 700 islands and 2,400 cays, of which only about 30 are inhabited. Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World here in 1492, on the island of San Salvador. The country was administered as a British colony until 1973, when it gained independence, and has since remained a member of the Commonwealth. The official language is English, and most of the population descends from Africans brought to the islands as enslaved people during the colonial era.

Nassau, the capital on New Providence island, is the country's commercial and tourism hub, with colonial-era buildings and a harbor. The Exuma Cays, a chain of about 365 smaller islands and cays, are known for the free-roaming swimming pigs on Big Major Cay. Harbour Island, off the coast of Eleuthera, is known for its pink sand beaches, colored by tiny fragments of coral. Lucayan National Park, on Grand Bahama island, contains one of the world's longest underwater cave systems.

The clarity of the waters around the Bahamas and the rich marine life of its coral reefs make it a strong destination for diving and snorkeling, with the reef off Andros Island forming the third-largest coral reef system in the world. Swimming with sharks, including lemon sharks and bull sharks, around the Bimini Islands is a popular activity offered through organized tours. Local cuisine is built around fish and seafood, with conch salad and a chowder made from conch as signature dishes, often prepared with citrus and spicy seasoning.