Of all the Caribbean islands, St Lucia is perhaps the most instantly recognisable, with the dramatic Piton mountains dominating the southern landscape.
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site last year, the cone-shaped peaks came into view suddenly, soaring skywards as we approached the fishing village of Soufriere by boat from the north.
It’s a must-see for any visitor to St Lucia and agents can encourage clients to look beyond the destination’s beaches by booking an add-on tour or a hotel that nestles in the lush mountains.
For those with energy, guided hikes up and down Gros Piton take around four and a half hours, with picturesque views from the top as reward. The area also boasts plenty of nature-based attractions – we headed to another key site nearby, billed as the ‘world’s only drive-through volcano’.
Though it may sound like something from a Disney theme park, you can drive across the volcano’s seven-acre crater to its heart, the Sulphur Springs. Since last year’s hurricane, walking between the bubbling pools of boiling water and mud on the crater floor is forbidden, for fear the ground might shift, but you can still get close up.
It’s outside the springs that the real fun begins. Scooping up handfuls of dark rich mud beside a warm sulphuric river we smothered ourselves from head to toe, then dried in the sun before jumping into the hot water to rinse off. The minerals are reputedly good for the skin: a DIY spa treatment for free.
Virgin Holidays offers a ‘land and sea’ tour, including a boat trip to Soufriere from the north, a visit to the Sulphur Springs, the Botanical Gardens – home to the dramatic Diamond Falls – and lunch, for £49 per person.
Though St Lucia is famed for diving and snorkelling, its volcanic origin with fertile soil and mountainous, forested landscape sets it apart from many other Caribbean islands. Nature trails run through the rainforest interior and dozens of cycling, trekking and jeep safari excursions are available.
Back past Soufriere, the picturesque Anse Chastanet resort offers mountain biking through dense jungle with Bike St Lucia. Twelve miles of cycle trails wind through the grounds of what was the 18th-century Anse Mamin Plantation, through tropical vegetation and past the ruins of a sugar mill, church and reservoir.
After a basic lesson, we set off along the easiest track on our hi-tech Cannondale suspension bikes. Though there were a couple of gentle tumbles it’s a great way to explore the forest. Marked routes are graded in four levels, with the rollercoaster Tinker’s Trail – designed with the help of world cycling champion Tinker Juarez – for the most experienced riders. A two-hour excursion costs £21.50, but special cycling packages are available for those staying at the hotel.
For riding of a different kind we headed back up north to the International Pony Club outside Gros Islet. A two-hour trek to Cas En Bas beach on the wild Atlantic coast with ‘swimming’ on horseback costs £27. It’s an amazing experience galloping along the water’s edge and riding bareback into the sea until the horses start to swim beneath you.
