Traveling in St. Lucia

With the exceptional beauty of Rainforest Adventures St. Lucia, there are many great attractions and places to discover in St. Lucia where you can find a topography and ecology matched with the stunning beauty of natural resources and its environment. The Island’s protected coastal sights including the breathtaking, remarkable spires of Les Pitons. Lots of nature hikes, programs and tours have been arranged to showcase these peerless assets, allowing the visitors to enjoy the sites without harming its complex and exquisite environment.

The Pitons. They are usually located near Soufrière, surmounting 2,000 feet.  They are primitive twin peaks and St. Lucia’s famous landmark. Its mounting summit is very challenging and only the fearless climbers have ventured up to the summit.

National Rain Forest. Its rainforest is perfect to nature lovers and bird watchers. With its 19,000 acres of rich mountains and valleys, it’s a home to giant ferns, birds of paradise and various native species of trees, exotic flowers and fruits. The rare and beautiful birds like White Breasted Thrasher, St. Lucia Peewee, St. Lucia Oriole and the brightly colored St. Lucia Parrot locally known as “jacqout” inhabit in this forest.

Sulphur Springs. Currently dormant, an enormous crater where boiling black water sprays hydrogen sulfide into the air of St. Lucia, the world’s only drive-in volcano the Sulphur Springs. It is located in the southwestern side of the island, near Soufriere. The road runs up to the crater of Soufriere Volcano.

Mt. Gimie. Is the tallest mountain on the island of St. Lucia. The mountain’s peak reaches 3,117 feet tall. It is of volcanic origin and is covered by lush tropical rainforest. Its peak offers one of the most breathtaking views.

Diamond Falls. The main attraction in the Botanical Garden because of its invigorating shower under the cascading waters is still a refreshing break. The French King Louis XVI had bathhouses built for his troops at the natural, mineral-rich Diamond Falls.

Latille Gardens.  These lush grounds, filled with blooming flowers, fruit trees, and herb gardens are so tranquil you’ll never want to leave. This is one of St. Lucia’s hidden treasures filled with shading trees and vibrant waterfalls. Latille Garden is situated just off the east coast of St. Lucia. No one can miss a walk on the waterfall trails or a relaxing night under the moon and stars, amidst the scent of healthy vegetation.

Wildlife. The coast of Fort Vieux lies two small islands called the Maria Islands. The two islands are a nature reserve and a home of two species that are not found anywhere else in the world. Marked as the rarest snake- The Kouwes Snake and the Zandoli Te, a ground lizard, where the male carries a brilliant blue tail. The Fregate Island is a paradise for fregate birds during mating season.       

Image credits: nationalparks

Are we talking about this usual topic again? Yes. Before we even forgot it, it is indeed important to remind ourselves of the so many benefits that rainforests give us. 

Natural rainforests sustain all forms of life on earth. May it be plant life, animal life, and most importantly, humans, almost all forms of life in the world are all supported by forests for survival. This might be a very common issue to talk about, but I think it would be very relevant to us to reiterate the selfless contributions that we are getting; especially now that it almost seems that we are taking this all for granted.

High-quality timber. High quality of woods generally found in tropical rainforest because their trees do not contain “tree rings.” The tree rings do not occur because the tropics do not have four seasons. This gives a smoother look to product trees such as the dipterocarps in Kalimantan’s tropical rainforest make high quality timber, which create a lot of money when sold overseas.

Land for plantations. One of the world’s biggest producer of palm oil is Indonesia. Palm oil plantations stretch as far as 31,640 square kilometers in the island, and it has grown 300% since the year 2000. It is a booming industry, and cutting down the rainforest gives more room for even bigger palm oil plantations.

Fuelwood.  Gathering wood and lighting it up for energy is still use this method in more than half of the population in Kalimantan, because they are still uncivilized in the sense that they used fuelwood for their cooking and heating. And they have an easy access to the woods they need because rainforest are within their reach.

Flood control. Rainforest can provide a buffer to its surroundings from natural disasters such as flooding. The roots can store some of the water that reaches the soil while the leaves on the trees can collect rain water to slow its process from reaching the ground.  

Agriculture. The farmers make use of the previously mentioned slash-and-burn technique for subsistence agriculture, and the big companies clear large areas of rainforest to plant palm oil plantations for commercial agriculture.

Land for settlement. The move from rural to urban areas has increased the need to further expand communities into the forests. This creates the need for more cities that need more land.

Tourism. Tourism is a big part of some economy. The rainforest play the role as a beautiful environment for tourists. National parks can be visited, which contains orangutans which roaming around the rainforest freely. It becomes a place that offers a unique experience to get in touch with the Mother Nature.  

Fresh air. With an abundance of trees from the rainforest it’s a perfect place where people can breathe fresh air. There is such a high number of vegetation in the forest that contribute the air to become very clean and even healthy to breathe in.

Image credits: blog.farmusa.org