🔊 Play

While the parties and cocktails of Nevis will inevitably provide some of the highlights of any stay here, it is perhaps the moments of introspective retreat achieved while hiking through dense jungle foliage that will be the most rewarding. 

Many paths wind their way up and through the gorgeous greenery, and these three will be sure to challenge even the fittest of athletes.

The Peak

The route up the peak is infamous on the island. Some willingly throw themselves up and down the obstacle course – for that is essentially what it becomes – on a weekly basis, pushing themselves to be the fastest to complete the return trip. Others come back after hours spent toiling on the mountainside, eyes a little wider than when they left and legs not quite functioning properly anymore. Stopping on the way up is essential in order to take in the views that sneak their way between the trees, and lingering at the top (while relishing the ever-present cooling breezes) is the best reward after this strenuous climb. There is something immensely satisfying about being able to sit in a beach bar, look to a distant horizon, and casually say, with a sniff and a cool sip of beer, that hey, I climbed the Peak this morning. 

The Waterfalls

The beauty of this walk is its relative accessibility. Walking to the lowest of the falls still affords magnificent encounters with huge buttressed roots and trees with leaves large enough to hide a herd of elephants. For those in a ‘mixed ability party’, anyone who wants to take it easy can hang out by – or indeed, in – the lowest refreshing falls and send the other keen beans further up the slopes. A series of ropes are in place to help with climbing around the most awkward corners, and it’s a veritable playpark for all Action Jacksons and Jungle Janes.

The Source

The best thing about this walk? It’s seemingly designed to incorporate a breakfast at Golden Rock, and there are few things better in the whole of the Caribbean than this stunning walk with some impossible views that comes to an end with the finest of breakfast goodies (and perhaps a congratulatory glass of Champagne). This walk is also great for anyone looking to see some of the history of Nevis as it passes by long since abandoned slave villages, easily spotted by looking out for patches of breadfruit and lime trees that the slaves grew to supplement their meagre rations. A poignant comparison, perhaps, to the offerings at Golden Rock – but one that sums up the contradictions of Nevis really quite succinctly.