St. Lucia ranks among the most carefully developed Caribbean islands. Many old-island traditions remain intact and the lush mountainous terrain packs some of the Caribbean's greatest beauty.

Cruising the island's profound loveliness provides one of St. Lucia's greatest pleasures. The ride from the capital Castries south to historic Soufriere is nature's answer to channel surfing. Mountain switchbacks click onto one incredible scene after another in quick succession, including a gingerbread confection of a house on Morne Fortune, a stunning harbor view of Castries, simple, washboard-roof cottages, or two elderly women carrying gunny sacks of breadfruit balanced on their heads. Other island scenes vary from waves of banana trees to mountaintop aerial views of sweet fishing villages named Anse La Liberte and Anse La Raye. Layer of beauty upon layer of beauty until you hit that climactic view of all views: the famed twin Piton peaks, poking skyward in the vicinity of Soufriere. There's something ancient and sacred about their majesty, rising from the sea. Prehistoric peoples revered them and islanders still consider them blessed. They've even named a beer after them.

Soufriere, St. Lucia's oldest city holds a cache of natural and historic sites. The island's highest peak, Mt. Gimie, soars to 3,118 feet high at its back door. To the south, lie the craftsmen's village of Choiseul and the beach town of Vieux Fort, known also for its offshore rookery islands. The larger of the island's two airports is located in Vieux Fort.

A smaller airport lies in Castries, a bustling town, population 60,000, with an important cruise ship port, a lively market, and a magnificent rise of hill. Much of the island's tourist attractions are found to the north. Gros Islet is known for its Friday night parties. Pigeon Island National Park provides a lovely sweep of beach and a chronicle of St. Lucia's combative past.

The passive Arawak Indians first occupied St. Lucia, until the hostile Caribs stormed in. They man aged to forestall colonization; scaring off prospects with a religious ritual they termed cannibalism. Pirate Jambe de Bois was the first known European to settle the island. He attacked Spanish ships from his base on Pigeon Island. In the course of the next century, Dutch, English, and French settlers made their mark. St. Lucia changed hands between the French and English 14 times. Warring stunted its sugar industry potential; still, Africans brought as slaves to work plantation fields settled much of the island. In 1838, St. Lucia became part of the Windward Islands, with its government seat in Barbados. In 1979, the island gained full independence.

St. Lucia's natural beauty, preserved by its 19,000-acre Rainforest, is one of its best tourism selling points. Adventurers come to snorkel, dive, horseback ride, and hike into its wilderness below and high above the surface. The island's interior and eastern Atlantic shores are largely pristine and a nature-lover's dream.

As one o f the Windward Caribbean islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, St. Lucia pledged allegiance to England before gaining independence, but French ways oftentimes overshadow. Carnival, place names, language, and culinary methods all taste strongly of Gallic. African, East Indian, and other influences create a rich Creole culture unlike that of any other Caribbean island.