AT A GLANCE

Why go?

In the misty interior highlands of St. Lucia, where the forest climbs toward Mount Gimie and the Roseau Dam spreads like a green mirror below the ridge, there is a 1.75-mile trail that delivers the island's five rarest birds closer than anywhere else. The Millet Bird Sanctuary & Nature Trail winds through thick woodland and opens onto exposed hilltops, and with a forestry guide alongside you, the St. Lucia Parrot — the island's national bird, once nearly lost — can be heard screeching overhead within the first hour.↗↗↗↗↗

This is not a casual stroll. The path is moderate to strenuous, perched around 1,000 feet above sea level, and it rewards effort with a sweeping view of the John Compton Dam, the largest in the Eastern Caribbean. Over 30 bird species live along the loop, and the five endemics found nowhere else on Earth — Parrot, Oriole, Warbler, Pewee and Black Finch — are the reason birders from across the Caribbean make the drive inland.↗