Mount Liamuiga hike is what makes St. Kitts unique. It is not everyday that you have the opportunity to hike up a volcano (if you do – luck you!) in a rainforest. Which is precisely why you should do it…if you happen to be in St. Kitts. Wildlife wise this is probably the safest rainforest you will ever hike in as well.
If you are curious about the Mount Liamuiga hike, here is all the info you will need:
Do you need a guide?
Mount Liamuiga hike is really hard to get lost on. It is will marked with ribbons and the trail is very visible.
A need for a guide is depended on your hiking experience. If you are novice and never hiked before or maybe couple basic hikes, then I would say yes. If you have done hiking and are comfortable outdoors, then I would say no.
We did the hike without a guide. A good hike can probably make it a little more interesting if they have some interesting facts about the flora, and scenery around. I can’t comment about the value as we didn’t hire a guide though.
Getting there
If you are hiring a guide, you won’t need to worry about this as they would typically pick you up from the hotel.
A taxi can drop you off right at the gates to the starting point. Make sure they drive all the way in, and not just drop you off where the pavement ends as you will need to walk a ways to get to the starting point. We took a taxi but issue is getting back to town – we walked all the way back to the village, and caught a bus.
If you are driving: Take the main road that goes around the island West from Basseterre (every road seems to get you on it), drive about 20 min until you see this sign on your left so you must turn right.
Fitness level
Mount Liamuiga hike is not easy like some people online have said. It is a steady up hill climb over varied terrain. We had a 20 year old join us within 30 minutes he started throwing up, and turned around back.
I would say it is a medium difficulty hike. If you are not experienced hiker or out of shape then you will find it as a hard hike for sure.
The weather makes it harder; St. Kitts is very humid, you will be sweating lots, and need to keep hydration in mind (I wish we brought more water). If you drank heavy the night before I would definitely not recommend doing this hike. Depends on the season it might rain on you (maybe even the whole time) which makes this hike much harder but also slippery.
The Mount Liamuiga hike
Once you go through the fence turn left, you will soon start going on a slight incline over well marked, and roped path – you are now on the trail. It will be dense in flora and beautiful. Remember when you are hiking in a rain forest the beauty of it sometimes hides beneath those big leafs, the canopy is pretty spectacular as well.
You will notice how quiet it is, which is due to the introduction of monkeys, and mongoose to St. Kitts who eat all the birds’s eggs. There will be very little openings for a vista but lots of places to take a break.
The incline will soon start increasing and the hard work begins. Expect mud, climbing over boulders, roots, and some steep sections that might require the use of all your limbs. It is pretty straight forward hike as you will just be going up. There is no place you can wonder off.
The flora is beautiful, you can see mango and cinnamon trees among others.
When you get to the top of the crater you can stay there and enjoy the view, go down into the crater (not recommended if it rains, will take take an extra 30 min) or go to the right, and climb up a ladder onto some boulders to have an amazing view. It is pretty spectacular to be on top of a volcano.
If you lucky enough, and there is no cloud on top then take photos quick! The peak is almost always covered in a thick fog which is a cloud. I kind of liked it actually makes it even more cool…I mean common standing in a cloud on a jungle covered volcano?!??
Details:
Height: 3,792-foot (1,156 m).
Time: It took us about 1.5 hours up. I would consider my self in pretty good shape. We got rained on very hard on the way down so took us about the same time down. This is not a hike I would rush because attention to footing is important. 5 – 6 hours I would say is very reasonable for beginners with lots of breaks.
Spoiler alert! Here is our view of the crater.