Fort Saint George

St. George’s Hill and Fort St. George are located in Montserrat’s Exclusion Zone V and is only 2 miles from the volcanos summit. Since the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1996, St. George’s Hill has been off limits due to its proximity to the volcano. In January 2026, the Montserrat Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) modified the law to allow daytime access with a certified guide and a permit ($5 USD per person and free for residents).

Fort Saint George’s Southern Battery (16.721391 , -62.206868)

Fort Saint George’s Magazine (16.721414 , -62.207134)

The views from Fort St. George are incredible with sweeping 360 degree vistas from the Plymouth pier to the volcano’s crest. Unfortunately for us, the day we chose was the one day in 3 weeks that it rained during the day making our view of Soufrière Hills limited.

The fort itself, which does not exist anymore, was built in 1782 during the French occupation and consisted of two gun batteries and a central magazine. Fort St. George was returned to Montserrat control in 1784 by the Treaty of Paris, which also ended the American Revolutionary War.

Abandoned Estate (16.719236 , -62.206537)

Following the abandoned private drive just East of the Fort St. George battery will bring you to a once beautiful estate on the cliff’s edge. From there you can get a sense of the scale of the landscape and destruction. For possibly the first time you can see the boulders you have been eyeing are actually the sizes of homes and were deposited there by the powerful volcanic eruption.