Many tourists opt to take day trip passes to absorb the splendour of the St Lucian Pitons in a relatively short space of time.

They are a fascinating phenomenon that is well worth the stench.  The sheer beauty and magnitude of them alone is magnificent, however, the fact that you can drive in to a volcano, park and walk a few steps to the crater floor makes them even more appealing to the contemporary individual.  You can book various day trips that will take you to the sulphur springs, the pitons, a walk in the diamond botanical gardens, lunch in Soufriere and possibly stop off atMarigotBay.  If you have more time plan to take a journey down the west coast and head to the rainforest!  A rare gem and a must see!

St Luciahas become iconic for this featured ‘drive-in’ volcano because the road runs through the crater of theSoufrierevolcano.  The crater emits steam and sulphur amongst boiling mud and water bubbling away which as you may have already imagined, smells a lot like rotten eggs!

Although the last eruption was in the late eighteenth century, the volcano is considered to be dormant.

There is a stream that runs through the crater itself providing bathing pools which have therapeutic benefits due to the high mineral content including iron, calcium oxide, sulphur, copper oxide, carbon and magnesium.  These combine to create the pungent smells associated with the rotten egg sensation and they also stain the rocks a green colour.

Sandwiched between the two peaks is the high ground mentioned above as the Mitan Ridge which has a few sparse buildings and a hotel, called the Ladera Hotel.

Moving towards Petit Piton and tucked just beneath the peak is one of the original capital towns ofSt Lucia,Soufriere. The capital is now Castries.  Today, Soufriereis a small fishing village. Although it is a small town it does have two tourist attractions, the diamond botanical gardens and the drive through or ‘drive-in’ volcano better termed Soufriere Volcano. There is literally a road that runs through the centre of the active volcano.

They are literally two volcanic plugs.  A volcanic plug is also termed a volcanic neck or lava neck and is a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on a currently active volcano.  One of two things can happen when these are forming.  Firstly, the plug could potentially cause an extreme build-up of pressure and lead to an explosive eruption.  Alternatively, if the plug is preserved, the erosion resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform.  An example of this is the Pitons of Saint Lucia.

There remains to this day sulphur springs and hot mud pools in the nearby Soufriere Caldera, which is visible remnants of former volcanic activity.

St Lucia’s Pitons are some of the most famous landmarks in the entireCaribbeanregion.  This is due to their majestic like quality of rising out of the waters and stretching far beyond into the heavenly skies.  They represent the brilliance of nature and her mighty show of spectacular serenity.