Saint Lucia Hiking: Gros Piton Trail

The Gros Piton - Trail Info, Local Hiking Guides & Tour Operators

Overview of St. Lucia Gros Piton hiking experience:

  • Time required: 3 – 6 hours round trip
  • Degree of Difficulty: 8 out of 10
  • Elevation: Approximately 2,600 feet (786 meters)
  • Distance: Just under 3 miles (4.4km) round trip
  • Guide Required: YES – This trail is well marked, however it is St. Lucian law for visitors to the island to be accompanied by an official guide from the Forestry Department. Guides are typically available on the beach at Anse Ivrogne or in the nearest town, west of Fond Doux. Officially, a St. Lucia Forestry Department Service guide will charge you $25usd per person, although there are plenty of local tour operators charging more, although they usually include transportation and other value-add services.

The St. Lucia Pitons, located on the Piton Mitan ridge, are one of the most photographed landmarks in the Caribbean, and are an UNESCO World Heritage site. Hiking the Gros Piton is by far the most popular hike in St. Lucia, so there will likely be others on the trail, however the Pitons are an icon of the island, and therefore great to tell the story of having hiked one – Oh, and it’s a fun hike too!

You can do this hike as part of a boat & hike tour, with the hike starting on the beach near Anse Ivrogne. An alternative starting point, although perhaps not as fun or challenging, is to start from the village of Fond Gen Libre, west of Fond Doux (although un-named, it can be seen on Google Maps, in Earth view). Starting from the town probably shaves off about 650 vertical feet (200m) from the beach starting point.

Plan your vacation with Active Caribbean Travel – Have fun hiking the Gros Piton Trail on Saint Lucia with a knowledgeable guide.After walking along the beach a short distance, you will head inland to the trailhead. The trail starts as a nice natural dirt trail, and the first 30 minutes or so of the hike is a gradual incline winding around the piton a bit. About a third of the way up the mountain, the trail meets the trail from the east, coming from the nearby village. It starts to get steeper here, and the next half an hour is a tougher climb. There are a couple of good spots to take a water and picture break. There’s a viewing area where you can see the beautiful south-east coastline of St. Lucia, with the island of St. Vincent faintly visible in the background.

 

The last 30 minutes or so is pretty steep, with some areas where you literally crawl with our hands and feet, up-and-over boulders… and there were other portions of the trail, where the mountain has eroded, so there were rough man-made stairs and stick/rope railings in place – please don’t put too much of your faith (or weight) on those sticks/ropes… There’s another picture-taking area on this section of the trail, this time with a clear view of the Petit Piton. It’s obvious that climbing those steep slopes would be tougher than the Gros piton.

Plan your vacation with Active Caribbean Travel – Have fun hiking the Gros Piton Trail on Saint Lucia with a knowledgeable guide.Once you reach the top and catch your breath, relax a while and enjoy the spectacular views of the south end of the island. You can see the outline of Vieux Fort, along with a clear view of St. Vincent from the top of the Piton. The path down is the same path as the way up… If you keep on the move most of the time, you can make the round trip hike in just about 3 hours.

In summary, this is a somewhat short hike, lacking some of the flora variation found elsewhere on the island. Most mountain / volcano hikes have a few ups and downs, however this hike is pretty much up-hill all the way with ever-increasing steepness - It’s a fairly tough hike requiring decent leg strength and excellent cardio. Alternatively, take your time (if you don’t literally, have a plane to catch).

For a guide / tour to hike the Gros Piton Trail in Saint Lucia, these local Tour Operators will take good care of you:

 

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