Discovering Vine-land in St. Kitts’ Central Forest Reserve
I’ve always wanted to hike in the St. Kitts Central Forest Reserve National Park, on a trail other than Mount Liamuiga, but I wasn’t sure the so-called hikes offered by the local tour operators were going to be interesting enough for us. So, we rented a car and drove up the west coast of the island to the grounds of the once majestic Wingfield Estate, where I had heard a number of hiking trails originated. Once we got there, I talked to a vendor about hiking in the area and asked if there were any local guides we could hire. Within seconds he was on his phone trying to help us out. After a couple of unsuccessful calls, he was able to reach someone from Old Road Town who would take us on a hike.
About half an hour later, a friendly fellow named Travis showed up and said he would be happy to take us into the jungle on what he called the “Bench Trail”. As we would find out, after hiking for an hour or so there’s a rustic wooden bench on the hillside where folks usually rest having just climbed a relatively steep section of the trail, hence the name. Our hike started with a casual walk along a dirt road behind Wingfield Estate that passed the remains of the recently abandoned Sky Safari Zipline. It’s amazingly beautiful how quickly tropical nature reclaims ownership of the land when given the opportunity to do so.
We soon left the dirt road, following a narrow path into the jungle. The natural trail took us next to what appeared to be an old riverbank, although the river bed was a green carpet, with just a little trickle of water and the odd puddle. Travis explained that the water was dammed and captured in cisterns much higher up the mountain. This part of the trail follows small pipes that bring clean water down into the local houses and businesses in Old Road Town and the surrounding area.
We stopped once in a while for Travis to show us various trees and plants bordering the trail. He explained that while some have edible fruit, others have leaves, bark, and roots that can be used for medicinal teas – Apparently curing everything from sore throats, indigestion, and stiff muscles to maybe even cancer. Other plants grow hard bright-coloured seeds that are used as decorative beads in traditional artwork. One tree Travis showed us was the massive locust tree, whose fruit is called ‘stinking toes’ due to their visual likeness and repugnant odour once cracked open. It was more appetizing when Travis pointed out the occasional cocoa tree with its distinctive large pods housing future chocolate. Then he brought to our attention the stand of almond trees we were walking under. Pretty cool to see the trail littered with partially eaten almond husks. Apparently, the local vervet (or green) monkeys eat the flesh between the husk and the pit, not realizing what they are missing – I’m sure they would really enjoy the protein-rich nut inside.
I always enjoy seeing the large tropical gommier trees with their fascinating rock-hard-looking bark with patches of reddish flakes, and maybe even a little shocked to come across the spike-covered sandbox trees. While intriguing to look at – don’t touch these horrors of the forest! Another interesting fruit Travis showed us was the manciport or mammee apple, whose fruit is apparently nutritious and delicious! We also encountered several species of mango and other edible fruit trees in the rainforest, although the monkeys eat the fruit right before it fully ripens, so unfortunately there is rarely much left for human consumption.
After about half an hour or so, we left the rainforest’s natural grocery store and pharmacy to head uphill. The trail twisted and turned around large trees constantly taking us higher. While a bit of a workout, it was relatively easy to hike although the incline did get steeper over time as the trail snaked up the mountainside. At Travis’ urging, we stopped a few times to sniff the air. Yes, I smelled the odour of animals nearby. While we figured correctly that goats roam the area, Travis suggested that there was something else afoot. He showed us marks on trees where the bark was clearly worn, as well as areas of earth that had been dug up near the roots. Apparently, these are the signs of feral pigs scratching themselves and rooting for food respectively. As the uphill hike continued, we kept hearing rustling noises above us in the trees. We were hoping to see monkeys, however, the sounds inevitably turned out to be doves. This situation repeated itself over and over again – The sight and sounds of startled doves taking flight.
After another half hour or so, we were quite sweaty and breathing a little hard as we arrived at “the bench”. We grabbed a seat, although we didn’t rest for too long. After peering through a gap in the rainforest canopy, we could see that we were on the edge of a gully, or what they call a ghaut in St. Kitts. Peering down into the ghaut, it was clear that we had traveled a fair distance, although it was clear that the trail continued much further as we could see a series of ropes tied from tree to tree. Travis told us he had never gone past the bench before, so he wasn’t sure where it went or for how long. We pushed on to take a look, but there was no end in sight. While the trail is fairly steep in this section, I didn’t need to use the ropes, although they are a good safety precaution for sure. With blue/white blazes on the trees, it appears as though this is a major trail of some sort. I believe that we were on the Old Military Trail that crosses the island from Old Road Town to Phillips Village. I further believe that if we had continued for another half hour or so, we would have found the spur trail to Dos D’Ane Pond.
We had set out today to just go for a nice little rainforest hike, so we were satisfied at this point to head back. It was great to discover that Travis was taking us back on a slightly different route, as loop trails provide the opportunity to experience as much diverse terrain and flora as possible. As an exciting change of pace, the first part of this new trail included an unanticipated plunge down the hillside. We pretty much rappelled a short section of trail to quickly reach the gully floor.
Being higher up in the ghaut, there was a bit of a stream in this area, quite likely from recent rains. Travis looked for crayfish but came up empty-handed. At this point, we crossed the shallow stream to encounter something out of a Jurassic Park or Tarzan movie. There were vines of all sizes hanging everywhere.
Pretty much a curtain or veil of vines. Travis explained how the vines grow out of the ground, climb up and tangle themselves around tree branches high in the sky, before reaching back to earth. He said the older ones secured to large trees are strong enough to hold the weight of an adult human, and Travis proved his point! OK, that was pretty cool!
Following the stream and eventually the dried-out riverbed, we eventually made our way back down to Wingfield Estate where Travis showed us soursop, calabash and pacay trees. He explained that the spiky soursop is a tasty and nutritious fruit, while calabash fruit and pacay seed pods are not edible, they do make for fun musical (percussion) instruments.
Back at Wingfield Estate, we walked around the remains of the old stone structures. A few hundred years ago, this was one of the most dominant plantations on the island – The place just oozes with history. In the mid 17th century, it is believed to have been one of the Caribbean’s first rum distilleries!
Now that’s what I call a good day!
For a more ‘technical’ Trail Report as well as much more information on hiking in St. Kitts & Nevis, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):
- St. Kitts Hiking – The Bench Trail
- St. Kitts & Nevis Hiking Trails – Trail Reviews and Tour Operators
For an overview of the beautiful “Sister islands”, take a look at our St. Kitts & Nevis Vacations page
If you’re looking for more active things to do while vacationing on the islands, click on our St. Kitts & Nevis Adventures blog for more great ideas!
For a more relaxed vacation itinerary, you can find great Tourist Attractions on the islands, by checking out our Things to Do in St. Kitts & Nevis blog
ACT Staff
