Hell, Grand Cayman

Hell, Grand Cayman is a group of short, black, limestone formations in the northwest Grand Cayman town of West Bay. It is roughly the size of half a soccer field, and people are not allowed in amongst the limestone formations; two viewing platforms exist for tourists. There are numerous versions of how Hell received its name, but they are generally variations on "a local official exclaimed, 'This is what Hell must look like.'"

Regardless of how it first came to be called Hell, the name stuck and the area has become something of a tourist attraction, featuring a fire-engine red hell-themed post office from which you can send "postcards from hell", and a gift shop with 'Satan' passing out souvenirs while greeting people with phrases like 'How the hell are you?' and 'Where the hell are you from?' [http://www.mountaindiver.com/dive24.html] [http://gocaribbean.about.com/od/caymanislands/a/aa061500a.htm] .

It is also claimed that the name "Hell" is derived from the fact that if a pebble is thrown out into the formation, it echoes amongst the limestone peaks and valleys and sounds as if the pebble is falling all the way down to "Hell."

Ironically, some of the stores in the area feature prominent quotations from the Bible on their sides. This is due to the conservative nature of Caymanian society.

Hell can be quite busy as it is a stop for cruise ship tours.