Hike Antigua – Mount Obama Trail Description & Local Hiking Guides
Overview of hiking Antigua – Mount Obama (Boggy Peak):
- Time required: 2 – 3 hours round trip (depending on how much time you spend at the top enjoying the views and refreshing breeze)
- Degree of Difficulty: 6.5 out of 10
- Height: About 1,476 feet (450m) to the peak
- Distance: Just over 4 miles (6.6km) round trip
- Guide Required: Yes – While the trail itself is fairly well marked, the trail-head can be difficult to find and more importantly, you need a key to access the top of the mountain.
Located in the south west area of Antigua known as the “Green Corridor”, the tallest peak of the island resides in it’s namesake, Mount Obama National Park. Formerly known as Boggy Peak, the area was renamed in 2009 in recognition of the historic election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the USA.
The trail-head is at the end of a road that leads to the Christian Valley Agricultural Station – an area known for it’s mango orchards, dwarf papaya trees and other fruits. Not far from the small parking lot, a monument can be found with a plaque explaining the area’s renaming and dedication. After a short warm-up on a wide dirt road, the trail narrows through tall grass, then disappears into the forest.
The forest is heavily wooded, although somewhat less than tropical than rain-forests found on more lush islands further south. There seemed to be more cedars and other trees recognizable by North Americans, than we’re used to seeing in the Caribbean. Regardless, it’s a great natural trail with several twists and turns, all the while constantly on an incline. Our path also took us across a couple of dry river bed crossings – The island has been in a bit of a drought situation for a few years. The narrow path was littered with hundreds of leaves from the surrounding trees, including large foliage from the bamboo stands that grow in clumps along the trail.
The trail is constantly going uphill, mostly on a gradual slope, although there were a few short steeper sections. After about a half an hour or more on the trail, the path spills out onto a concrete road that winds around the mountain to the top. The road is very steep at this point, making the final 15 minutes or so of the climb a bit more challenging. At the end of the concrete road is a fenced-in property that houses buildings and antennas belonging to Cable and Wireless. Hire a local Antigua hiking guide who has a key to the gate, so you can hike to the very top of the mountain.
From the Telecom’s building’s sidewalks, there are unobstructed views of the southern coastline of Antigua and the Caribbean Sea, including the island’s most well-known snorkeling spot, Cades Reef. Well below the peak on flatter land, you can see a large field growing the island’s famous ‘black pineapple’. To the east is amazing views of the nearby rolling hills. To the west, along the Caribbean coastline is Darkwood beach and Jolly Harbour. Unfortunately, the day we were there it was hazy and humid, so we could not see Montserrat off in the distance to the south-west.
Walking around to the other side of the C&W main building, the view was obstructed by a number of smaller radio towers, although a mound/platform near the largest radio tower allowed us more great views of the Caribbean side of the island as well as St. John’s and the north side of the island way off in the distance.
It takes about another 45 minutes to an hour to descend from the peak. This time we took to concrete road down the south side of the mountain, all the way to the agricultural land near the coast. The road snakes left and right all the way down to a dirt road that leads out to the main coastal road.
In summary, this was a very enjoyable intermediate level Antigua hike that provides great 360 degree views of the island. From a birds-eye view, the trail runs fairly straight north – to – south, with a couple of jogs at the peak and part way down. Our hike included transportation with different drop-off and pick up locations, although an alternative is to hike both up and down either the north (forest trail) or south side (road). Going up the forest trail and down the concrete road includes a nice natural trail as well as southerly views.
To hike Antigua’s Mount Obama, these local Tour Operators / Hiking Guides will take good care of you (Click on a Tour Operator below for more details):
Footsteps Rainforest Hiking Tours
For a more colourful review, check out our personal Antigua hiking experience with our Mount Obama Blog Post
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