Jump to: Video & Photos
If you’ve reached this post I believe it’s for one of two reasons. You either have stumbled upon my blog or you are interested in hiking the Petit Piton in St. Lucia. If it’s the latter this post is definitely for you. The Pitons consist of two mountains, Gros Piton 2,579′ (786 m) and Petit Piton 2,425′ (739 m). They are just south of the town Soufrière in the southwest of Saint Lucia. My family stayed at Caille Blanc Villa which is above Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet Resort. Our view looks directly across Soufrière Bay to the Pitons so after two days of laying in the pool looking at the mountains a friend and I decided to hire a local guide and go climb one.
After doing a little research and talking to the staff at our house it seemed like Gros Piton was going to be a super easy hike that almost any tourist could do, but that everyone does who wants to hike. Gros Piton is government sanctioned so they have guides on hand ready to take anyone that shows up. That didn’t interest us very much and honestly Petit Piton just looks so much cooler because it’s so steep and more pointed at the top. Our villa security guard had a friend that is a private guide and hikes Petit Piton so we scheduled to meet him at 8am one morning. Almost everything I read about Petit Piton was that it was illegal, closed to hiking due to erosion from a past hurricane which made the mountain unsafe, it was very dangerous and not advised, etc, but no locals we asked had actually done it and all the reviews and blogs had so many contradictions that it was hard to know what to believe.
Here is information I consider helpful to make it easier for anyone interested in doing the hike.
- The hike is not illegal. There are local guides that will take you up Petit Piton, but you have to know how to contact them. The government just wants the tourism dollars so they make it seem like Petit Piton is illegal or unsafe.
- You don’t need any hiking gear. Just wear decent shoes and bring some water.
- The hike is totally safe if you take your time and pay attention. However, if you fall in certain places you could most certainly break bones or kill yourself. It’s quite steep with plenty of areas you could fall if you weren’t paying attention or made a mistake.
- I would say 90% of the climb there are either roots or ropes you can grab to pull yourself up. The other 10% is standard trail hiking or scrambling.
- There are plenty of areas as you get closer to the top that require short sections of vertical climbing with your feet on the wall and both hands climbing up using ropes.
- Take one 1.5L bottle and one 600ml bottle of water if you think you will need it. You will not need any more than that in my opinion as I only drank a little more than half of my 1.5L.
- Pack a few energy bars, fruit or whatever snacks you like because there is nowhere to buy anything.
- There are a few spots to stop and take some photos and rest if you need it so bring a camera or a GoPro with the grip mount so you can clip it to a tree.
- If it has just recently rained or there is a possibility for rain I would wait. It would be much more difficult and I don’t think it would be very fun.
- You should be in fairly decent physical shape if you want to enjoy it and/or not put yourself at risk.
- It took us 3 hours and 40 minutes. 2:10 going up with multiple stops for photos and 1:30 going down. Note it was just me and my friend and while he really enjoys hiking he wasn’t in the best shape of his life, but fully enjoyed it even though it was challenging for him. If everyone in your group was in excellent shape you could do it in approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.
If you enjoy hiking and climbing and are in decent physical shape with enough upper body strength to pull yourself up ropes while using your feet you can easily do this hike. It was extremely fun how you could monkey up the mountain using your arms and legs at the same time. Hearing how touristy and easy Gros Piton was we were so happy with our decision to do what many were telling us not to.
Total time: 4 hours 30 minutes which includes 50 minutes at the top.
Cost: $55 USD including tip.
Janus Gyan says
Absolutely love this post Chad. Petit Piton is really an awesome hike that requires one to be patient with themselves along with having a guide that is able to properly direct you and anticipate any danger. As an islander I’ve done the hike a few times and must say every client my company has taken up the Petit Piton Mountain have absolutely loved it. We’ve also noticed many travelers are interested in climbing the mountain and have now made it easy for them to find a guide at our site http://www.petitpiton.com – This would now make it easy for the many adventurers that dare to climb Petit Piton a dream come true.
-Janus
Chad says
I’m glad to see someone has made a site to provide visitors with some accurate information. Feel free to link to my post so your visitors can see an actual video of the experience they could have.
Janus Gyan says
Hi Chad,
I can do better, feel free to write me a short or long unique comment about your personal experience hiking the Petit Piton in addition to a link pointing to your website and the video. I will have it featured on our review page. I have no doubt the hundreds of clients using my company services would love to read and be directed to your page.
-Janus
David says
Hi Chad – great post about your Piton experience. I’m in Soufriere now and want to climb up the Petit Piton. It’s been raining off and on the last few days and it will probably continue this way for the rest of my stay. I still want to go for it. What do you think? I don’t think I’m coming back to St. Lucia soon, too many other places to go first. Also, do I really need a guide if I can find the trailhead myself?
Thanks for the tips.
David
Chad says
Well as I mentioned rain will make it much more difficult. Rocks could slide and your footing would be poor, but if you’re used to climbing or hiking in bad weather I’d say you could still do it. Just start and use your judgement as you progress up the mountain. As for having a guide, again, if you you’re used to this kind of thing and pay attention to where you’re going you should be ok, but other little offshoot trails do exist that could confuse you. I would recommend you at least have someone with you because if something were to happen you would be in a touch spot especially if you go when it’s wet and no others are on the mountain with you. We went on a good day and still only saw less than 10 people.
Hope this helps. Good luck and if you go for it let me know how it goes and what you thought.
Jennifer says
Do you know how I could pre-arrange a guide for this hike? I contact petitpiton.com almost a week ago and haven’t heard back. We are experienced rock climbers and backpackers so we’re looking for something more adventurous the one day we are in St. Lucia.
Chad says
Check your email. You could technically go without a guide in my opinion. Our guide was just a local who had done it a ton, we signed no waivers, paid cash and just went. So while you might read about sanctions etc we just literally showed up and started hiking. Hope the info I sent you helps.
kerry humphrey says
Chad, we are looking to climb Petit this week and feel like we could do it ourselves as long as we can locate the start. Thoughts? Great post and encouraging to see that we could conquer this adventure without the fear of other posts out there. Great video and bullet points on your experience. Was very impressed and appreciative of your post/blog. Thanks!
Chad says
You’re very welcome. Glad you found it useful. Take a look at the first photo in my gallery. Try calling that number. Good luck.
Eugene Filimon says
Here, in St. Lucia. It would be great to hike up Petit Piton. We did some serious trails in Alps but would like to have contact of the guide here. Thank you!
Chad says
I unfortunately don’t have any additional info I can give you. The villa I stayed at was able to connect me to this guy. Your best bet is to do a Google search and find someone that way. Good luck.
Andy says
Chad…great post & super informative. I hiked Gros Piton a week ago…made it up in 2 hours 20 minutes…down in 1.5 hours…the view was a little disappointing but the hike was rewarding. I’m in great shape, thank god, because my guide was a Billy goat! Wish I did petit Piton but will nxt time I’m in St. Lucia. Thanx for a great blog.
Andy
john riggs says
My wife and I did it for our 60th birthdays. We are only 11 days apart. 3 times on the way up our “guide” told us, “this is were most people turn around”. We made it. But probably won’t go back for our 70th.
Chad says
Thanks awesome John. That’s a great achievement.
Helena says
Just as a matter of interest are you guys experienced climbers or just physically fit?
Chad says
I’m just a recreational hiker that enjoys climbing things. If you’re fit the climb is no problem. If you’re out of shape it will be a challenge.
Hilla says
This is great, thanks. We’re always disappointed to visit new regions to discover what so many deem an “extremely challenging” hike is highly developed and closer to moderate at best. This sounds like an actual challenge and something we can accomplish. Looking forward to it!
Chad says
You guys will have a great time. Enjoy!
Rania says
Hi Chad! My husband and I are going to St.Lucia next week to bring in the new year and wanted to hike Petit Piton. We are staying at Sandals but not sure if they would let us hike Petit Piton through their services. Is there somewhere you could point us that would help in arranging this for our trip?
Thanks!
Chad says
Take a look at the first photo in my gallery. I would try calling those numbers. If for someone reason they don’t answer I would ask around in the town of Soufrière which you likely will have to drive through to get to Sandals and is very close to the Pitons. Hope that helps.
Helena says
Hi Chad
1) Is it easy to get hold of a guide for Petit Piton, and for how much 2)boots, trail shoes or trainers ,3)what would it be like to climb in July/August 4) how would it compare with Ben Nevis, Snowdon or Kilimanjaro. 5) I like a challenge, but is it dangerous?
Great blog!
Helena
Chad says
Helena,
1) I have no idea. Our villa knew the number of the guy that took us, but there is a number on the sign in one of my photos. Try that.
2) I wore running shoes and the guide was barefoot so that’s totally up to you. My buddy wore hiking boots.
3) I wasn’t there then so I don’t know.
4) Never done those.
5) As mentioned there are certainly areas where you could hurt yourself if you fell , but I had no personal concerns for my safety.
Enjoy!
Eleanor says
Hi Helena,
Did you end up doing Petit Piton? I was actually wondering if anyone has experience to compare it to Crib Goch (Snowdon), and saw you mentioned it. I found Crib Goch challenging (mentally more than anything else) but doable. We did Gros Piton several years back and are looking at perhaps doing Petit Piton this time around.
Thanks, Chad for this great post about Petit Piton!
Eugene Filimon says
In March 2016 I was asking for guide. Just wanted to say that we hiked up on our own. If you find start than it’s pretty clear track. Rather challenging due to climate but totally worth!!!
Tiana says
Hi Chad!
Thanks for the post as it is very informative.
Do you have any information where the trailhead starts? A lot of sources say it starts at Sugar Beach property which should be fine as we will be staying at this hotel. Also do you think it would be hard to follow the trail without a guide?
Chad says
Hi Tiana,
I”m sorry I don’t remember the exact locations as our driver dropped us off at a nearby park and we walked just down the street from there to the traihead which was unmarked.
I think if you’re an experienced climber and used to hiking you could do it without a guide, but the guide is cheap and you’ll learn more about the island this way so I”m glad we had him for that reason.
Good luck and have fun.