| country: | St. Vincent & The Grenadines |
| location: | St Vincent |
| departures: | Tour departs daily throughout the year (minimum 2 people) |
| price: | From US $60 - US $85 (1/2-1 day) excluding flights. Includes visit to Fort Charlotte and Botanic Gardens. Half-day includes tax, drinks (rum punch, soft drinks, water), pick-up and return, and knowledgeable guide. Full day includes above plus lunch and snack |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This tour takes you along the Leeward (west coast) Highway, and passes through many small villages before reaching the Buccament Valley. Turning inland and travelling over rugged roads eventually leads to the Nature Trail site and the St. Vincent Parrot Reserve - 10,870 acres of forest set aside to help preserve the endemic and endangered St. Vincent Parrot (Amazona guildingii) and its rainforest habitat.
This Reserve provides a superb area for hiking and bird watching. The Parrot Lookout Trail is two hours of comfortable walking (1.25 miles) through a canopy of trees, and offers the unique opportunity to go through cultivated fields, forest plantation and rainforest.
You can observe many of the Buccament Valley’s 250 plant species (many used in local bush medicine), 37 bird species including the St. Vincent Parrot and the Whistling Warbler (Cathoropeza bishopi), mammals such as the agouti, manicou, mongoose and nine-banded armadillo, and the reptilian iguanas and geckos. A true botanical paradise.
This Reserve provides a superb area for hiking and bird watching. The Parrot Lookout Trail is two hours of comfortable walking (1.25 miles) through a canopy of trees, and offers the unique opportunity to go through cultivated fields, forest plantation and rainforest.
You can observe many of the Buccament Valley’s 250 plant species (many used in local bush medicine), 37 bird species including the St. Vincent Parrot and the Whistling Warbler (Cathoropeza bishopi), mammals such as the agouti, manicou, mongoose and nine-banded armadillo, and the reptilian iguanas and geckos. A true botanical paradise.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment:
The fragile nature of this environment is noted to our guests, and group sizes are limited to minimize disruption to the ecology. As government custodians to one of the endangered St. Vincent parrots (approximately 700 in the wild), we are particularly desirous to have guests realize the intelligence and beauty of the animals that inhabit the same planet we all share. Guides encourage guests not to litter, but will pick up trash from their group and others in reusable bags along the trails and beaches. ‘What you carry in, you carry out’. They also inform visitors of the fragility of coral reefs; no touching or anchoring near them. We attend workshops and support all government wildlife preservation and conservation policies and are government custodians to Polly, an indigenous and endangered St. Vincent Parrot, (Amazona guildingii), born in captivity. Community: Vincentians with extensive training share their knowledge of this fertile valley. They direct your attention to the sweet songs of the rainforest while pointing out the lush vegetation including those plants used in bush medicine. Other cultural and folklore tales give insights into the Vincentian way of life. Primarily we use locally grown and manufactured products. When not supplied from our own organic orchard, we buy fresh fruits for snacks from roadside vendors. We encourage visitors to buy locally made souvenirs and use locally handcrafted walking sticks for the hiking tours. This season we will implement the use of locally made coconut bowls, forks and spoons. We aim to give visitors insights into the history and culture of our people and encourage tourists to attend local sporting and cultural events. We provide in-house manual and regionally certified training to local guides. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |








