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Des Cartiers Rain Forest Trail |
St. Lucia's most popular hike. |
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Des Cartiers Rain Forest Trail The Des Cartiers Rain Forest Trail is a 2.5 mile(4km) loop trail that takes between 1-2 hours to hike. If you stop frequently to see what is around you, the Des Cartier walk can easily take 2 hours. Located about 1,800-feet above sea level, this hike goes through moist tropical and montane forest. The area receives as much as 150-200 inches of rain annually. Come prepared. This easy loop trail is one favored by commercial tour operators. Pay the entrance fee at the interpretive center near the trailhead. Note the number of red anthuriums growing along the path as you head into the high canopied forest. The trail follows roads carved out by the French in World War II. Several observation points deviate from the main trail. These are supposed to be good places for sighting the St. Lucian parrot but the ones I spotted were on the main trail, not at the turnoffs. At a northern part of the loop is a trail that links up with the Edmund Forest Reserve, a 4-hour hike requiring a guide. The trees bordering the Des Cartiers Trail path are tall and mature and some have Tarzan-sized vines hanging from their high branches. The gommier trees are big enough to fashion two or three canoes from them. The chataigner is the emergent tree above the forest canopy, which soars to 120 feet in some places. Leaves on the trail are slick after a rain. The sounds here are marvelous. The wind in the trees sounds like rain, and swaying bamboo as it rubs together making the creaking noises. The banana plantation adjoining the trailhead
is a reminder of the once rampant rain forest cutting. Acre for acre, it's
doubtful that any banana plantation here generated as much income as this
one modest hiking trail. |
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