1,000 Steps

Bonaire's most photographed entry starts with a staircase cut into the seaside cliff, sixty-seven steps that the climb back out inflates to the advertised thousand. The reward is one of the north coast's healthiest terraces: hillocks of star coral stepping down from the bright shallows, with hawksbill turtles working the slope and the odd eagle ray passing along the sand line. The site suits everything from a first fun dive to a long photography soak, and its white-pebble beach makes the surface interval part of the attraction. Go early; the small roadside parking fills by mid-morning.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Iconic staircase entry, star coral hills, dependable turtles

التضاريس: Coral terrace sloping to sand, dominated by mountainous star coral

نقطة الدخول: Sixty-seven limestone stairs descend the cliff from the coastal road; they feel like a thousand on the climb back with gear.

المخاطر: The stair climb with full gear is strenuous in heat; plan gas and energy for the exit.

الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية: Inside the Bonaire National Marine Park: no touching, no gloves, no collecting.