Soufriere, St. Lucia
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The beach at Soufriere with the Pitons
The twin Pitons towers over Soufriere, St. Lucia’s entryway to its natural attractions of sulphur springs, rainforest, waterfalls, and botanical gardens. The oldest settlement on St. Lucia, this charming town is located on the island’s southwest corner. The French built the area as a trading center for the island’s flourishing sugar and coffee plantations and this influence is still evident in the architecture and the townspeople’s speech and names.
Explore the island’s huge rain forest, which covers 19,000 acres of mountains and valleys. It boasts giant ferns, birds of paradise and other exotic, tropical flora, as well as rare, beautiful birds including the St. Lucia Parrot, the White Breasted Thrasher, and the St. Lucia Oriole. Before you explore the Reserve, make reservations with the St. Lucia Government, which controls the numbers of visitors given access. However, a trained guide will escort you while you hike the forests, which includes a stop at a natural cascade waterfall.
Other island attractions include the world’s only drive-in volcano, the historic plantations of Soufriere Estate, Morne Coubaril Estate and Fond Doux Estate, and Diamond Falls, the lowest of six waterfalls on the volcano. Diamond Falls and Mineral Baths, less than a mile east of Sourfiere, are privately owned and part of the Soufriere Estate, which dates from 1713. The Baths, built in 1784, were completely restored in the 1980’s although some of the original baths are still used today. Beyond the baths lie Diamond Falls, which spills through tropical gardens into the pools.
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