Hiking the famous Pitons of St Lucia

The Pitons

The most important landmark in St Lucia are, undoubtedly, the Pitons. Every single postcard that you’ll see, adds, travel magazine photos related to St Lucia will most definitely feature the twin mountains. Even the island’s local brand of beer is named “Piton”.

The two volcanic plugs are located on the South West coast of St Lucia, in a town named Soufriere and they’re two of a kind. One of them it’s called Gros Piton, while the other Petit Piton. Both can be climbed by those who are fit enough.
Reaching 739m (2461 ft) high, Petit Piton rises in The Middle of Soufriere Bay. It is more challenging to hike, than its twin and without a welcome centre or marked trailhead, thrill seekers are advised to find locals that know the hike route, as it is considered to present some danger exposure.
On the other hand, we have the 786m (2619 ft) Gros Piton. Even though it’s the second highest peak on St Lucia, after Mount Gimie 950m (3117 ft), it is easier to hike, mostly because it’s not as steep as Petit Piton. In contrast with its twin, it has a welcome centre and it’s more tourist orientated.

Making our way to the Pitons

We are those travellers who would take the road less traveled whenever we know we can. In this case, we were more inclined to hike Petit Piton, but we had to face the facts and admit that we were not physically prepared, nor did we have the right gear for such a climb. Our other option was to hike the Gros Piton, so we hired a car from Rodney Bay and started planning our one day trip to the Pitons.

We were looking at a two hour drive, from Rodney Bay (North of St Lucia) to Soufriere (South of the Island). We woke up early in the morning, as we knew we had to start our hike while the sun was not so powerful and we arrived at Gros Piton around 8:30am.

Hiking the Gros Piton

We bought the tickets, which cost us US$30/pp and we started our ascent. It took us 1h and 45min to reach the summit and almost the same time to get back down. On an average, it’s being said it takes around to 2 hours each way.
There are around four designated stops on the way to the top, but of course, if you feel like you need to take a break, you can do that wherever and whenever you want. Because you’ll be part of a small guided group, you might feel like you need to rush, as you’ll see the guide and others do it. But seriously, it’s not an easy hike so you might want to do it at your own pace and just make sure to state that to your guide. In the end, you are the one paying for this experience and you might as well enjoy it. We loved it!

Was it difficult? Yes!
Was it hot? Yes!
Was it humid? Very! Especially, once we entered the rainforest.
Were we driven mad by the mosquitoes? Definitely!
Not to mention that three days after the climb we were still dealing with muscle soreness.
But I guess that’s what made it the best hiking experience we’ve ever had. And the views! Oh, what amazing views!

From half way to the summit, you get to see the Petit Piton, and if there would be a reason why you wouldn’t want to continue you’re trip to the peak, I think that would be it – you’d want to indulge in that view for as long as you can. But, once again, curiosity pushed us further and we continued our hike towards the summit. It became harder and harder and it felt like our feet were on the point of giving up, but we pushed our limits. Despite having met a few hikers who’d given up and ended their hike before they reached the top, we knew this was not us. And so, we finally managed to get to our fourth and final stop – the Peak of Gros Piton.

We couldn’t see the Petit Piton from where we were now standing. Instead we had a very different view – the Vieux Fort (the most southern point of the island) and St Vincent (the neighbouring island in the south) – which is magnificent! Being so high up in the sky, it felt like we were on top of the world. Well, to a certain extent, we were!
And what a great and liberating feeling that was!

Know before you go:

– Getting to the Pitons might be a bit complicated once in Soufriere, as there aren’t clear marked signs to show you the way to the Pitons. So you have to make sure to follow the right road: as you enter Soufriere, go straight on Bridge Street until you reach a small bridge. As soon as you passed the bridge take the first road to the left (W Quilan Street) and then turn right on the first road. Now, keep going straight until you exit Soufriere). This way you will not have to deal with any unpleasant situations, like we did. We got a bit disorientated and ended up on a dead road with people banging on our car, swearing and asking us for money.
– Start your hike early in the morning. It’s much easier when the sun is not burning hot. And the views are always better in the morning.
– Make sure to have a lot of water with you.
– You can also take some snacks, but do not leave litter there. Make sure to take it back down with you and dispose of it once you find a bin.
– Sun screen and mosquito repellent are a must.
– Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
– Try and go as light as you can and don’t carry unnecessary things.
– Be prepared to experience muscle soreness for a few days after the hike
– Take a Piton (beer) with you so you can enjoy it on top of Gros Piton. It’s almost like a tradition ☺
– And of course, don’t forget your camera!