Private Gros Piton Hike & Community Experience

The Pitons of St Lucia

The Pitons are St Lucia’s most famous landmark from antiquity when the original inhabitants of the island worshipped them as their gods, to modern times as recent as 2004 when they were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their “Outstanding Universal Value”

The community of Fond Gens Libre which literally translates to “Valley of the Free People”, is the gateway to the mountain hike. The community consists of just over 100 residents living in 34 households in close proximity to each other so that they are truly an extended family. Many of these residents are reputed to be descendants of Saint Lucia’s Freedom Fighters who rejected slavery hundreds of years ago and made this enclave one of the strongholds from which they successfully resisted colonization.

Today community residents seek to rekindle the warrior spirit of their ancestors.  They are sharing their amazing story through a community centered visitor experience that celebrates their history, culture and cuisine. The community seeks to develop this unique Saint Lucia Experience into an International Benchmark of Sustainable & Regenerative Community Based Tourism within a UNESCO World Heritage Site and invite you to be part of this amazing renaissance.

Gros Piton Worshipped as God

We invite you to come experience the magic and allure of this mystic mountain Saint Lucia’s original inhabitants are believed to have worshiped as Yokahu – their god of volcanic mountains, the sun, fire, thunder and food. This theory was postulated by amateur St Lucia archeologist Robert Devaux at the 6^th International Congress for the Study of Pre-Columbian Cultures in the Antilles, in the neighbouring island of Guadeloupe in 1975.

On this Private Community Experience and Gros Piton Hike you will discover the fascinating story of the community directly from residents. You will then be taken on a hike in which you will learn about the plants along the way and the multiple ways in which they enrich the lives of community residents. You will be regaled with stories of Saint Lucia folklore that will immerse you in our rich cultural heritage and you will come away knowing that you have touched and been touched by the authentic essence that has contributed to Saint Lucia being called the Helen of the West Indies.

And as if this were not magical enough, through this community based immersive experience you will be making a valuable contribution to the upliftment of lives within the community – from early childhood education and empowerment to adult educational and vocational development.

A Note On Tipping

Here in Saint Lucia we do not have a traditional culture of tipping.  However our team has worked hard to develop a culture of excellence and supreme pride in having you join us as our honoured guest.  You can expect the team to be engaging, caring, informative, entertaining … and even more; and we invite you to tip then based on how well they have mastered their mission.

This makes for lively discussion and learning as they strive to be among the best guides in the entire world!

So Thank You in advance for helping them get there!

PreviousNext