Saint Lucia is the perfect port stop, whether you're after romance,
rejuvenation or adventure.
The natural landscape of gorgeous palm-fringed beaches, miles
of unspoiled rainforest and the majestic Piton Mountains
is sure to indulge every taste.
Some people say that St.
Lucia is the Hawaii of the Caribbean. With many natural
waterfalls,
mountains, gorgeous beaches and
breath-taking views, it is pretty easy to see why
the comparison to Hawaii makes sense.
Water Water
Water
Water sports are a way of life on this island, where natural harbors
and bays frequently interrupt a coastline of rain-forested
mountains. The island boasts some of the best underwater dive sites
in the Caribbean. Imagine the crystal clear, warm waters. Picture
the fine white sand beaches, lined with gently swaying palms. Where
better to go windsurfing, sailing, parasailing or water-skiing than
Saint Lucia?
Saint Lucia is a diving paradise. The island is at the tip of an
underwater volcano where both beginner and experienced divers alike
will enjoy the stunning variety of coral, sponge and marine life.
Artificial reefs have developed around a number of sunken ships that
have become home to huge gorgonians, black coral trees, gigantic
barrel sponges, purple vase sponges and black lace corals. Exciting
Caribbean diving trips will reveal turtles, nurse sharks, seahorses,
angel fish, and golden spotted eels, to name but a few, among the
dazzling cross section of Caribbean marine life. Divers from all
over the world know the exotic beauty and warm crystal waters of
Saint Lucia. A great deal of care has been exercised to ensure that
the island, as well as the surrounding water remains as pristine as
it was a generation ago when it first began attracting divers in
search of a paradise less traveled.
As mountainous below sea level as it is
above, Saint Lucia offers incomparable sightseeing for divers who
are drawn to the tremendous variety that nature has to offer: huge
gorgonians, black coral trees, gigantic barrel sponges, purple vase
sponges and lace coral. Angelfish, black beauties, golden spotted
eels, seahorses, Stingrays, nurse sharks, turtles and many varieties
of schooling fish are as plentiful as they are colorful and varied.
A few submerged shipwrecks and a mysterious serpentine creature of
mythical proportions known as "the thing" add to the excitement of
diving in the waters of Saint Lucia.
Not interested in lazing on the beach all day long day after day?
There are a number of nature trails that offer a wide array of
hikes. Some are more strenuous than others. In the mountainous
rainforests of Saint Lucia there are approximately 30 species of
birds. You may be lucky to spot the rare and beautiful parrot,
Jacquot. Exploring the beauty of Saint Lucia's majestic rain forest
is a great way to relax and appreciate the island. A variety of
natural trails lead hikers through the rain forest, to the top of
Saint Lucia's mountains, through old plantation grounds, along
beaches, to Cactus Valley, to Pigeon Island and more. You will see
spectacular rain forest waterfalls, flora and local birds like the
Saint Lucia Parrot, the Saint Lucia Oriole and the Saint Lucia Black
Finch. Comfortable shoes are a must.
Deep in Saint Lucia's mountainous, tropical islands interior almost
1,800 feet above sea level, lay 19,000 acres of rainforest and the
29 miles of trails that run through it. The rainforest is respected
as a habitat for rare birds and plants, a world where lushness is
overpowering, where elusive parrots squawk overhead, orchids scent
the air, hummingbird buzz near brilliant heliconia and climbing
palms encircle tall trees like lovers in a parting embrace. It has
taken centuries for Saint Lucia's tropical island rainforest to
become its current well-developed refuge. Nonetheless, two thousand
years ago, Arawak tribes associated the dark woods with evil spirits
and for centuries the forest remained untouched and the spirits the
Amerindians feared evolved into island folklore.
Biking has also become popular way to enjoy the island, and there
are some excellent biking tours for beginners and the more
experienced off road riders. There' is a lot to see on 2 wheels in
Saint Lucia. For the adventurer, head into Soufrière for an
ocean-side trail ride at Anse Chastanet. With a beautiful view of
the world-famous Gros Piton and Petit Piton mountains, this is one
ride you can't find anywhere but Saint Lucia.
The ambiance of Saint Lucia can be captured through a number of
horseback riding excursions. The International Riding Stables offers
an assortment of trail rides, including a ride winding through the
countryside along the beach, with time for swimming and a beach
picnic at Cas en Bas. Trim's Riding Stables offer a variety of treks
including a carriage tour to Pigeon Point and Fort Rodney. Trek the
lush trails of Saint Lucia, canter along almost deserted beaches on
horseback and revel in pure serenity. Cantering a horse along a
stretch of beach on the Atlantic coastline with the tropical wind
whipping your face and eager mount springing forth uncoaxed. Touring
Saint Lucia on horseback will enable you to truly take in the sights
and feel part of the surrounding giving you a chance to take in more
of the interesting aspects of the country.
Saint Lucia is recognized as one of the leading whale watching sites
in the area. Over 20 species are regularly spotted throughout the
year, including humpbacks, pilot whales, sperm whales and spinning
and spotted dolphins.
Turtles are another fascinating thrill for nature-lovers. The
abundance of these majestic reptiles on Saint Lucia is due to the
protection provided by local environmental activists, who have
ensured there is a permanent suspension on turtle hunting.
With the sparkling Caribbean Sea on one side and the mysterious
depths of the Atlantic Ocean on the other, sailors and fishermen
will fall in love with Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia offers opportunities
for some of the best deep-sea fishing in the world. Described as "an
angler's dream come true", it is home to several species of big game
fish.
Castries is the capital city of St. Lucia. It has grown up around
its harbor, which occupies the crater of an extinct volcano.
Castries may be architecturally dull, but its public market is one
of the most fascinating in the West Indies, and our favorite
people-watching site on the island.
If you are after shopping, the best duty-free shopping in this port
is near the harbor in Castries at the Spanish-style complex of
Pointe Seraphine. Fine china, crystal, perfume and leather goods can
be found there. Designer jewelry and watch brands are available at
great savings, including Caribbean Hook, Honora, John Atencio, John
Hardy, Kabana, Roberto Coin, Starnight, Alfex, Cartier, Concord,
Gucci, Maurice LaCroix, Michele, Movado, Wenger and more. The
outdoor market on Jeremie Street offers a wide array of straw goods.
The best-known products are the hand-silk-screened and hand-printed
fabrics and fashions created by local craftsmen.
One of the highlights of Castries is Derek Walcott Square, a
dignified and verdant rectangle that's bordered with, among others,
the public library and the island's most visible Catholic church,
the Cathedral. Derek Walcott, born in St. Lucia in 1930, won a Nobel
Prize for literature. Plaques within the park honor Walcott with a
verse from his epic poem, Ste. Lucie: "Moi c'est gens Ste. Lucie:
C'est la moi sortie, is there that I born." A few steps away is a
plaque commemorating another island-born luminary, Sir William
Arthur Lewis (1915-79), winner of a Nobel Prize for economics, whose
face appears on some of the nation's EC$100 bills. Both of the
commemorative plaques are virtually within the shadow of a
500-year-old "Simontree," (a local name for a local species), which
anyone in the park will happily point out as proof of the fertility
of the island's soil and climate.
One of the most important French-built religious buildings in the
West Indies is the Cathedral, immediately to the edge of the park.
Built during the 19th century of wrought iron, cast iron, and stone
under the supervision of several generations of hard-working,
long-suffering priests, it's covered with an almost surreal mélange
of French Catholic and West Indian iconography. Notice on one wall
the frescoes commemorating the "Martyrs of Uganda" who were
slaughtered by the forces of dictator Idi Amin.
To the south of Castries looms Morne Fortune, the inappropriately
named "Hill of Good Luck." In the 18th century, some of the most
savage Caribbean battles between the French and the British took
place here. You can visit the military cemetery, a small museum, the
old powder magazine, and the Four Apostles Battery (a quartet of
grim muzzle-loading cannons).
Government House, now the official
residence of the governor-general of St. Lucia, is one of the few
examples of Victorian architecture that escaped destruction by fire.
The private gardens are beautifully planted, aflame with scarlet and
purple bougainvillea. Morne Fortune also offers what many consider
the most scenic lookout perch in the Caribbean. The view of the
harbor of Castries is panoramic: You can see north to Pigeon Island
or south to the Pitons; on a clear day, you may even spot
Martinique. To reach Morne Fortune, head east on Bridge Street.
Pigeon Island National Historic Park is St. Lucia's first national
park. It is joined to the mainland by a causeway. On its west coast
are two white-sand beaches. There's also a restaurant, Jambe de
Bois, named after a wooden-legged pirate who once used the island as
a hideout.
Pigeon Island offers an Interpretation Centre, equipped with
artifacts and a multimedia display on local history, ranging from
the Amerindian occupation of A.D. 1000 to the Battle of the Saints,
when Admiral Rodney's fleet set out from Pigeon Island and defeated
Admiral De Grasse in 1782. The Captain's Cellar Olde English Pub
lies under the center and is evocative of an 18th-century English
bar.
Pigeon Island, only 18 hectares (44 acres),
got its name from the redneck pigeon, or ramier, that once colonized
this island in huge numbers. Now the site of a Sandals Hotel and
interconnected to the St. Lucian "mainland" with a causeway, the
island offers pleasant panoramas but no longer the sense of isolated
privacy that reigned here prior to its development. Parts of it,
those far from the hotel on the premises, seem appropriate for
nature walks
Soufrière, a small fishing port, is St. Lucia's second-largest
settlement. It is dominated by two pointed hills called Petit Piton
and Gros Piton. The Pitons, two volcanic cones rise to 2421 ft. and
2283 ft. They have become the very symbol of St. Lucia. Formed of
lava and rock, and once actively volcanic, they are now covered in
green vegetation. Their sheer rise from the sea makes them a
landmark visible for miles around, and waves crash at their bases.
Near Soufrière lies the famous "drive-in" volcano, Mount Soufrière,
a rocky lunar landscape of bubbling mud and craters seething with
sulfur.
You literally drive your car along a
winding, forested road into a millions-of-years-old crater. From the
parking lot, you'll walk uphill, along a closely monitored trail
peppered with park rangers and, from observation platforms, get a
view in the near distance of bubbling sulfur springs and pools of
hissing steam. The most visible of these is Gabriel's Pool, which
was named in honor of a 1960s-era St. Lucian tour guide, Gabriel,
whose weight collapsed the chalky surface of the congealed mud close
to the hot springs. Ever since then, one of the pools has borne his
name, and ever since, visitors are strictly prohibited from getting
too close to the steamy depths.
Diamond
Waterfall
Nearby are the Diamond Mineral Baths in the
Diamond Botanical Gardens. Deep in the lush tropical gardens is the
Diamond Waterfall, one of the geological attractions of the island.
Created from water bubbling up from sulfur springs, the waterfall
changes colors (from yellow to black to green to gray) several times
a day. The baths were constructed in 1784 on the orders of Louis
XVI, whose doctors told him these waters were similar in mineral
content to the waters at Aix-les-Bains. They were intended to
provide recuperative effects for French soldiers fighting in the
West Indies. The baths have an average temperature of 106°F.
