Pitons of Saint Lucia
The Pitons of Saint Lucia are primeval twin peaks having the height of above 2,000 feet. Located near Soufriere in the Southern part of Saint Lucia, the Pitons are the most famous landmarks of the island. As you arrive by air or water look for the Pitons St. Lucia's most recognizable landmark.
The trip down the winding west coast road through the rain forest takes a couple of hours and the Pitons excursions are easily the most popular in St Lucia. Geologists tell us that the Pitons were part of an ancient volcano that could have been 12,000 feet tall - taller than any mountain in the Caribbean! It would also have been taller than the tallest mountain in the continental United States.
Soufriere
Soufriere, includes the Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea (770-m 743-m high respectively), linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. If the Pitons are remnants of cumulo-domes, and not volcanic necks or plugs which are common, they are geologically unique. The soils are skeletal on steep slopes but are deep fertile clay loam elsewhere. Its dramatic twin coastal peaks, the Pitons, soar 2,000 feet up from the sea, sheltering magnificent rain forests where wild orchids, giant ferns, and birds of paradise flourish. Brilliantly-plumed tropical birds abound, including endangered species like the indigenous St.Lucian Parrot.
St.Lucians feel that the Pitons epitomizes a type of natural resource so unique, so special, so bound-up in the psyche of the people themselves, so symbolic of their national pride that they defy quantification in economic and monetary terms. The Pitons (pronounced pee-tone) are on the south end of St. Lucia, the least developed and more lush end of the island.