You’ve heard of all the opportunities to sunbathe on the white beaches, you’ve heard of all the ways you can enjoy the blue seas, and you’ve heard of all the cuisine you can try in the Caribbean; but, have you heard of all the hiking that can be done there?
There is so much more to this beautiful part of the world than just beaches, amazing golf resorts and other tourist attractions. There are places that you can visit where you can really become at one with nature and see some extraordinary species of animals that you’re likely to have never seen before, and stretch your legs whilst you do it. Check out just some of the hiking hotspots that the Caribbean has to offer below.
There is no better place to start than what used to be known as the Caribbean National Forest: the El Yunque National Forest. Located in Puerto Rico, this fantastic forest area has the Enchanted Island Eco Tours to offer for all your budding Caribbean hikers. On these guided hiking tours you can experience the magic of the forest at its peak time: nighttime. With 60% of the wildlife that inhabit the area being nocturnal, the 2014 permit that was granted to the company that hosts the tour, meaning that they were finally allowed to take visitors into the forest after 6:00pm, meant that hikers were finally allowed to witness the full and true beauty of this magnificent hiking area.
But this isn’t the only hiking haven offered up in the Caribbean: there is Guadeloupe, a place that is suited to both the most intrepid of explorers who are itching to hike their way through nature, and those who prefer to hike their way through shopping centres and malls instead. For the former, there is the La Soufriere Volcano just waiting for people to conquer it. The route to the top of it is a challenging one, but if you come this far to hike it’s pretty much a given that you enjoy a challenge. You should, however, watch out for all the sulphur that the volcano spews from time to time; but sulphur dodging is part of the fun, right?
And there is one last mountainous area that you should most definitely check out if the prospect of hiking up a vertical plain has you feeling excited: Christoffel National Park, located in Curaçao. You can go on any one of the eight hiking trails offered up in the Park that all lead to one place: Mt. Christoffel. Each trail differs in terms of how difficult they are to navigate, but again, if you come this far to hike, then you’re probably not likely to shy away from the toughest one.
So, if you want to partake in a bit of solo travelling to really enrich your life and find yourself, then look no further than a hiking holiday in the Caribbean. And on the journey of finding yourself, you are more than likely to find a species of animal that you have never heard of before, let alone seen!
