Mountain peak · Bahamas

Mount Alvernia

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Standing just 206 feet above the sea, Mount Alvernia on Cat Island claims a title no other Bahamian hill can: the highest point in an entire country. That alone would make it worth a stop, but what truly earns the climb is The Hermitage, a small medieval-style stone monastery that a remarkable priest-architect built with his own hands in 1939, carving Stations of the Cross into the rocks along the path as he went. This is not a grand cathedral or a resort landmark. It is something rarer — a solitary act of faith and craft perched at the very top of The Bahamas, where the wind off the Atlantic and a 360-degree view across the island make you feel like the only person on earth.↗↗↗

If you have ever wanted to visit a place that feels genuinely discovered rather than packaged, Mount Alvernia delivers that in a single afternoon. The climb is short but steep, the history is personal, and the reward is an unrepeatable combination of architecture, landscape, and story compressed into a few hundred steps of stone.↗

The Man Who Built a Mountain's Secret

A LITTLE INSPIRATION IS ON ITS WAY

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Mountain peak · Bahamas

Mount Alvernia

Bahamas, BS 4.6 (13 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Standing just 206 feet above the sea, Mount Alvernia on Cat Island claims a title no other Bahamian hill can: the highest point in an entire country. That alone would make it worth a stop, but what truly earns the climb is The Hermitage, a small medieval-style stone monastery that a remarkable priest-architect built with his own hands in 1939, carving Stations of the Cross into the rocks along the path as he went. This is not a grand cathedral or a resort landmark. It is something rarer — a solitary act of faith and craft perched at the very top of The Bahamas, where the wind off the Atlantic and a 360-degree view across the island make you feel like the only person on earth.↗↗↗

If you have ever wanted to visit a place that feels genuinely discovered rather than packaged, Mount Alvernia delivers that in a single afternoon. The climb is short but steep, the history is personal, and the reward is an unrepeatable combination of architecture, landscape, and story compressed into a few hundred steps of stone.↗

The Man Who Built a Mountain's Secret

Monsignor John Hawes arrived in The Bahamas as a Roman Catholic priest, but he carried a second identity that shaped everything he left behind: he was a trained architect and sculptor. Known to locals as Father Jerome, he spent the final seventeen years of his life on Cat Island, designing and building churches across the archipelago. His most personal project, however, was not a church. It was a retreat — a place to disappear into contemplation, built entirely from local stone on the rocky summit of Como Hill, which he renamed Mount Alvernia after La Verna in Tuscany, the hill given to St. Francis of Assisi.↗↗↗

The name is not an accident of geography but a deliberate act of devotion. Hawes admired St. Francis deeply, and choosing the highest point on Cat Island to recreate the spirit of a Tuscan hermitage tells you everything about how seriously he took this place. He died in 1956 and is said to be buried somewhere on the grounds of The Hermitage itself.↗↗

What makes it special

01

The highest natural point in The Bahamas at 206 feet (63 meters), giving a genuinely rare elevation claim in a famously flat archipelago↗↗

02

The Hermitage, a compact stone monastery built in 1939 by Father Jerome using local materials, integrated directly into the rocky summit↗↗

03

Hand-carved Stations of the Cross set into stone along the ascending path, turning the climb itself into a guided meditation↗↗

04

360-degree panoramic views across Cat Island's vegetation, low hills, and surrounding coastline from the summit↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

Allow roughly 1 to 2 hours for the round trip, including time to explore the monastery structures and take in the view from the top↗
Wear sturdy shoes with grip — the approach is a steep rocky incline with stone steps, and rain can make surfaces slippery↗
Morning or late afternoon visits are most comfortable; midday sun and heat make the exposed climb noticeably harder↗
New Bight Airport is very close to Mount Alvernia and has customs and immigration, making this an easy first or last stop on a Cat Island trip↗↗
There are no food or drink facilities at the summit; pack water for the climb and head down to New Bight for lunch or the evening Fish Fry↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Beach

Bahamas · BS

Buckingham Beach

Buckingham Beach sits on the Atlantic side of Great Abaco in the Abaco Islands, part of the relaxed resort community of Treasure Cay. It shares the shoreline that made this corner of The Bahamas famous: flour-soft white sand, warm water that turns from pale aquamarine at the edge to deepening turquoise offshore, and a long, gently sloping strand where there is almost always space to yourself. This is the kind of beach visitors describe as "sugar sand with crystal clear water" and a place to "have the whole beach to yourself," prized for its quiet, laid-back atmosphere rather than busy amenities. The shallow, generally calm water makes it easy to wade, swim, float or simply sit and watch pelicans hunt along the tide line. Buckingham Beach works best as a base or a stop within a Treasure Cay itinerary, close to the marina and a short hop from the northern cays reached by ferry.

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Mount Alvernia

Why go?

The Man Who Built a Mountain's Secret

More of Bahamas.

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Finding your next place…

Mount Alvernia

Why go?

The Man Who Built a Mountain's Secret

More of Bahamas.

Little Halls Pond Cay

Castaway Cay

What makes it special

A little planning goes a long way

About this guide

Buckingham Beach