P.O.Box 1441, Grand Anse
Grenada, West Indies
Tel: (001473) 444 4717
Fax: (001473) 443 0825
Grenada
Grenada’s most beautiful hikes are a well-kept secret
Palms instead of Alps: hiking fans wanting to treat themselves to something more exotic than beaten Alpine tracks will get their money’s worth in Grenada. Hidden waterfalls, jungle tops in wafts of mist, mysterious crater lakes and wild and romantic coastal strips can be discovered on food – provided you know your way around…
By Bernhard Grdseloff
Explorable on foot only: lonely beaches on Grenada’s wild and romantic south-east coast coast.
Palms instead of Alps: hiking in Grenada
Jungle summit: Ascent to the more than 700 m high summit of Mt. Qua Qua, Grenada’s second-highest mountain. Waymarked trail starting at the visitor’s carpark on Grand Etang crater lake. 2 ½ hour hike.
Waterfalls: The Seven Sisters are seven magnificent, interconnected waterfalls. 20 minutes’ walk along a private path beginning on the main road 2 km east of the Grand Etang visitor’s centre. Experienced hikers can also start right from the visitor’s centre, along a waymarked path. 1 ½ hour hike.
Crater lake: Around Grand Etang crater lake. Waymarked path starting at the visitor’s carpark; 1 ½ hour hike.
Lonely beaches: From the south-eastern coastal road at La Tante, take the right-hand turn to the south and drive to the beach. Hike along the coast eastwards – past 4 lonely beaches and green headlands – 2 hours.
For ambitious hikers: Hiking guide Telfor Bedeau, ph. 442 6200. Charges 25 to 30 US$ per person and tour.
Jungle summit: Ascent to the more than 700 m high summit of Mt. Qua Qua, Grenada’s second-highest mountain. Waymarked trail starting at the visitor’s carpark on Grand Etang crater lake. 2 ½ hour hike.
Waterfalls: The Seven Sisters are seven magnificent, interconnected waterfalls. 20 minutes’ walk along a private path beginning on the main road 2 km east of the Grand Etang visitor’s centre. Experienced hikers can also start right from the visitor’s centre, along a waymarked path. 1 ½ hour hike.
Crater lake: Around Grand Etang crater lake. Waymarked path starting at the visitor’s carpark; 1 ½ hour hike.
Lonely beaches: From the south-eastern coastal road at La Tante, take the right-hand turn to the south and drive to the beach. Hike along the coast eastwards – past 4 lonely beaches and green headlands – 2 hours.
For ambitious hikers: Hiking guide Telfor Bedeau, ph. 442 6200. Charges 25 to 30 US$ per person and tour.
Many of the narrow paths overgrown by tropical forest that lead through Grenada’s hilly landscape date back to the time of the Indian indigenous people. The only person who knows most of them is Telfor Bedeau.
“You show me a spot on the map, I’ll take you there,” the 66-year old hiking guide says self-confidently. He was 22 when he started marching up and down the island.
“The ascent to Mount St. Catherine is very beautiful, so is hiking along the Atlantic coast and the tour from Grand Etang crater lake to the Concorde Waterfalls”, raves Grenada’s hiking guru. “I’m not telling you any more - someone might go on one of the trickier paths off their own bat and get completely lost in the jungle,” Bedeau warns.
If you want to try your luck without a guide, you should keep to one of the marked or easily identifiable trails (see box).
“You show me a spot on the map, I’ll take you there,” the 66-year old hiking guide says self-confidently. He was 22 when he started marching up and down the island.
“The ascent to Mount St. Catherine is very beautiful, so is hiking along the Atlantic coast and the tour from Grand Etang crater lake to the Concorde Waterfalls”, raves Grenada’s hiking guru. “I’m not telling you any more - someone might go on one of the trickier paths off their own bat and get completely lost in the jungle,” Bedeau warns.
If you want to try your luck without a guide, you should keep to one of the marked or easily identifiable trails (see box).