Jamestown Travel Guide, St Helena

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Location

Jamestown is the capital city of St. Helena Island, beautifully located in the northern part of the island and facing the Atlantic Ocean. Jamestown travel guide will picture a realistic image of this unique city with its main features.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Topography and Climate

The city is set in a strange looking place; a narrow corridor surrounded by high cliffs with scarce or sometimes no vegetation. Besides the fact that the nearby formations are made of volcanic rocks, perfect for buildings, they have no other resources.

Climate in the city as on the entire island is arid with strong oceanic influences which reduces temperature consistently. The average annual temperatures are of 27ºC with almost no differences between the four seasons. Rain occurs especially in April and August, the rest of the year being rather equilibrated from this point of view with few rains and mild temperatures.

The major water presence here is the one of the ocean which can sometimes give a hard time to locals which had to build a defense wall in front of the waves which sometimes can be rather violent.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Flora and Fauna

Few things can be said about the city’s flora and fauna due to the steep rocks which surround the city. The landscape is bare without almost any flora, only few cultivated plant species decorate the small number of roads and other such places. Shrubs, decorative flowers, small bushes, gum trees and ebony trees can be found on the streets of this unique city.

Fauna is represented by cattle which are grown on higher grounds where there is also food for them and the island’s national bird, the wirebird. Marine fauna is richer and more diverse also due to the insignificant human intervention and activity.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Population

The city houses only 4000 inhabitants, all living in beautiful English style houses, some of them dating from ancient times. Its small population is mainly made up of Europeans, Chinese and Africans who speak a dialect of English, hard to understand even by a native English speaker.

Their main occupation is fishing, exporting fish representing an important part of their economy.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Culture and Arts

Since its inhabitants are a mix of different cultures and traditions, culture and arts on the island is diverse and can be understood by taking part of their public events. Crafts are also present, with beautiful embroideries, carvings, pottery etc some locals selling their creations is specialized stores.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Transport

St Helena Island is remote and a hard to get to destination due to the fact that the only option one has to get here is by ship. There is no airport on the island or in Jamestown, tourists arriving here with the Royal Mail ship, cruise ships or other kinds of ships. Once arrived here renting a car would be a great option since there are only a few buses operating from the city to the rest of the island. In general every detail must be thought and discussed in advance since the city is small and so are its resources.

Another great experience here is to walk through the city, in this way you will get the chance to observe and capture the true atmosphere of Jamestown. For a more adventurous escapade you can try and climb Jacob’s ladder, a sky high staircase with no less then 699 steps which will take you up on the edge of the nearby cliffs.

Jamestown, Travel Guide – Festivals

Since the locals are extremely friendly, public celebrations in Jamestown are a must. The island’s national day is one of the most important public events and is celebrated on 21st May with lots of entertainment, traditional food and music. Other important festivals here are the Walking Festival, Running Festival, Arts and Culture Festival and so on.