Grenada

Delightful, lush Grenada sits off the Venezuelan coast, in the far south of the Caribbean. It is hardly huge, at some 34km long by 18 wide. Its volcanic origins mean it is a rugged, at times confusing, place, with contorted ridges and valleys and a couple of fine crater lakes.

Most of the interior is overgrown former plantations now returning to interesting secondary forest. The high, rugged heart of the island is home  to its remaining large areas of primary forest: proper cloud forest on the highest ground, montane and rain forest below that. Grenada has rich flora, as you  would expect. Its mammal wildlife is somewhat limited, although you could well see charming mona monkeys. Mongooses, armadillos and manicous also exist but you will be lucky to see them. Granada is a joy for birdwatchers, with a huge variety including three types of hummingbird.

Grenada’s coasts are heavily populated, its roads lined with charming brightly painted houses and shacks.

See our Grenada page for more on Grenada and its history and people.

Grenada is still a British dependency, albeit democratically governed.

With its benign dry-season climate and fine beaches and interesting things to do, Grenada is surprisingly undervisited, and is  "real" rather than glitzy. The island is in the route of hurricanes, though; a huge one (Ivan) in 2004 destroyed many big old trees; much of the forest you will see is regenerating.

While you wouldn't come to Grenada for a walking holiday, it has some excellent walks, which you shouldn't miss while there: at the least, do a plantation walk and visit Grand Etang.

West and south

The West and South are Grenada’s most heavily populated areas, especially around St. George, its capital. It is hilly and thickly forested once away from habitation. 

Palmiste Lake is an attractive and interesting old dam near the coast, which once powered an estate's sugar machinery.

Annandale Falls: this popular waterfall is well written up in the Bradt guide. Not a serious walk, but lovely and with a superb tropical garden leading to the top of the main fall. You can, though, walk to a lesser-known fall nearby.

Morne Gazo is volcanic cone quite near St George's. 20mins up to startlingly good views. 

Plantation walks

Grenada was home to many sugar plantations, which were replaced by cocoa and nutmeg. Many of the plantations are long-abandoned, and have returned to secondary forest, in which you can pick cocoa, nutmeg and mangoes (we have feasted on ripe fallen mangoes- some bush tucker!)

They are now charming, fascinating, atmospheric jumbles of trees and scrub, the old trees and the plantation structures much in evidence including the fine old graded tracks which lace the hillsides.

You will meet the melancholy remains of chunkily built plantation buildings as you walk. They are stark reminders of the human misery which underpinned this economy.  

There are the remains of plantations all over Grenada, and therefore walks to be made more or less wherever you are. You shouldn't miss doing one while here.

Walkopedia did two plantation walks.

Above Grenville: we walked inland from the old town of Grenville. A fascinating walk, in one of Grenada's best-preserved plantations. A fine old graded track takes you up through the remains of the plantations, passing the ruins of the plantation buildings, which are interesting but unlovely, and redolent of the miseries of the slaves who worked them.

Belmont Estate:  another delightful and fascinating walk in one of Grenada's best-preserved plantations.

We had the honour (really) of walking with Telfor Bedeau, who was 86 and walked 2 hours up and down, with a stick but otherwise actively. He has walked all over the island and rowed and sailed round it, and knows every plant and cranny. A remarkable man.

Grand  Etang and Mt Kua Kua

This magnificent stretch of mountain  forest  in Grenada's remote and rugged heart is a must for keen walkers.

At its centre is the eponymous crater lake, a beautiful 12ha sheet of water in a fine old bowl which is still recognisably the remains of a volcano, with forested and  in places marshy edges. The walk around the lake takes 1+hrs and is lovely if very muddy and slippery in places - many will prefer to walk the first, drier, stretch only.

The best walk in Grenada for peak baggers and thrill lovers must be Mount Kua Kua, a 720m summit to the north-west of the lake. This is a challenging climb from the lake, not that steep but slippery and scrambly in places, which threads along some spectacular and thrillingly narrow ridges. Arguably the best views in Grenada on a fine day.

Concord Falls: these 3 waterfalls are beautiful and easily reached. The first is touristy, but the further ones (not on the same river, to be confusing) are rewarding walks. 1hr-ish to each of the lakes.

St Margaret' Falls: a 1.5 hr round trip to this series of beautiful waterfalls which is also known as the Seven Sisters.

The North and east

Mt St Catherine is Grenada's highest mountain at 840m. It is a demanding 4-5 hr or more round trip on steep and muddy trails. Most people approach from the east, although there are other trails. A guide is recommended. The views from the top of Grenada's rugged and forested interior will not disappoint. Note that the summits are often in cloud, so plan and be prepared to change plans.

Lake Antoine near the north-east coast is another crater lake, and a spectacular and beautiful one inside the still-visible crater. It has plant and bird life galore. A circuit takes up to 1.5 hrs. Highly recommended.

Tufton Hall Waterfall on the western slopes of Mt St Catherine, inland from Victoria, is a demanding but exciting 4ish hour slog up a riverbed to a stunning fall. Very overgrown and requiring a lot of scrambling. Guide needed and may not be easy to find.

This can be tough walking on steep and slippery paths.

Have a look at TripAdvisor – there are tens of millions of reviews, so you may get good, current views on guides, places to hike and places to stay here.

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