{"id":8512,"date":"2024-03-22T08:11:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T08:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/hiking-top-volcano-caribbean\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:52:21","slug":"hiking-top-volcano-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/hiking-top-volcano-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking Mount Liamuiga In St Kitts: A Volcano Adventure In The Caribbean"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m always scared of hard hikes. Actually, maybe scared isn\u2019t the right word to use. My unease stems from a sense of performance anxiety so I guess what I really am is nervous when it comes to hard hikes.<\/p>\n

I know I can do them but I also know I have to do it at my own pace. I\u2019m not the faster hiker but what I lack in speed, I more than make up for in patience and determination (which I tend to disguise with cleverly planned photo stops to catch my breath! \ud83d\ude06).<\/p>\n

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The morning we were due to hike up to Mount Liamuiga, an extinct volcano in St Kitts, I woke up with that sense of nervousness \u2013 coupled with excitement.<\/p>\n

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FYI, this hike is totally doable if you\u2019re able to scale rocks but I would be lying if I said it wasn\u2019t the physically hardest hike I\u2019d ever done. In retrospect, I think it would have been so much easier if I wasn\u2019t carrying all my camera stuff with me. Those things are heavy even at the best of times let alone when you\u2019re carrying lots of water with you and hiking uphill at the same time.<\/p>\n

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Thankfully, you\u2019re in the shade almost the entire time so the heat isn\u2019t as much a concern on this hike (it\u2019s still pretty hot though \u2013 if you\u2019re not sweating, you\u2019re not doing it right).<\/p>\n

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Our guide is something of a marvel in himself. At over 60 years old, O\u2019Neill is one of the fittest men you\u2019ll ever meet! This hike is nothing to him and he does it with the ease of a kid eating candy.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019re there puffing and panting and O\u2019Neill is barely breaking a sweat. He\u2019s also one of the kindest and most generous people we got to meet on the island. You\u2019re supposed to bring your own stuff with you on the hike but O\u2019Neill will happily share his \u2013 even his food and drinks, if you find yourself lacking.<\/p>\n

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And he\u2019s so knowledgeable about pretty much everything here!<\/p>\n

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Eventually, you get to the top and that view from the top makes it all worth it! We\u2019re talking getting to a point where the mountains kiss the clouds and being able to see right down to the lake that sits at the bottom of this one fiery volcano. It\u2019s incredible!<\/p>\n

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A long time ago, the Europeans introduced the mongoose to get rid of the rats (which they also introduced to the islands). They\u2019d tried other things before but only these mongoose seem capable of attacking and getting rid of the rats.<\/p>\n

Only problems was rats are nocturnal and mongooses are active during the day so their paths don\u2019t cross as often. What the mongoose ended up doing was raiding the nests of a lot of the local birds and wiping out indigenous birds from the islands. The island now has both mongoose and rats.<\/p>\n

Up at the top though, there are some rather inquisitive mongoose that pop out to \u2018say hello\u2019 (they disappeared before I could reach for my camera and when they showed up again, I was just too exhausted to even attempt to reach for my camera and do all that hassle with swapping lens).<\/p>\n

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Oh and by saying hello, I mean they\u2019re here for the crumbs left over from your picnic (or if they\u2019re really lucky a rogue bread bun that goes falling down the hill).<\/p>\n

In any case, this is probably one of the few places you can get to seeing what these mongoose look like close up.<\/p>\n

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Eventually, we started to make our way back down and this was the only time I was able to keep up with O\u2019Neill (actually at points, I went past him because surprisingly, as good as Lloyd is at uphill hiking, he\u2019s not that great at the downhill part so O\u2019Neill slowed down his pace a bit for Lloyd).<\/p>\n

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Knees trembling and calf muscles aching but thoroughly delighted at being able to have completed the hike, we made our way back to Ocean Terrace where we a shower was absolutely needed, followed by a dip in the pool\u2026.and another shower before heading out for a more relaxed evening in St Kitts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Tonight would be all about a sunset cruise around the island and I was more than ready.<\/p>\n

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We set sail to the most dramatic of skies \u2013 beautiful orange hues on one side and dark grey rain clouds making they way over on the other.<\/p>\n

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After a little while, the rain kicked in properly but thankfully didn\u2019t last too long (I had a rum punch pretty much the entire cruise so I was fine either ways \ud83d\ude09 ).<\/p>\n

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Soon enough, the sun came back out, glowing even more orange as it made is way beneath the horizon.<\/p>\n

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Many-a rum punch later, we were back on land and making our way over to Fisherman\u2019s Wharf for Lobster dinner (for me) and Chicken (for Lloyd) before having one of the deepest sleeps I\u2019d had on the island!<\/p>\n

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My muscles ached so much for that hike earlier on but the sense of achievement I had \u2013 along with the new bragging rights \u2013 made this one of the most memorable times I\u2019d had on not just St Kitts but on any Caribbean island I\u2019d ever visited. <\/p>\n

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Your Essential Guide Of Things To Do In St Kitts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n