The Centre Hills

Between the volcano's exclusion zone and the north's villages, the Centre Hills carry Montserrat's green survival: the island's remaining rainforest, trail-laced and spring-fed, where the Montserrat oriole - the endemic national bird, black-and-gold and found nowhere else - weathered eruption, ash and habitat loss to hold its population in these very valleys. Guided walks tune visitors to the oriole's whistle alongside tree frogs, hummingbirds and the 'mountain chicken' frog's conservation saga; the Oriole Walkway and Blackwood Allen trails ladder the ridges, and lookouts break the canopy for coast-and-volcano panoramas.

What you actually see

• The oriole quest - the black-and-gold endemic on its home ridges.
• The Oriole Walkway - the classic ladder through the forest.
• The spring valleys - the island's watershed green.
• The canopy lookouts - coast and volcano through the breaks.

When to go

December to May for trail comfort; dawn hours carry the birdsong and the oriole odds - local guides roughly double both.

Honest expectations

Trails are steep, rooty and honest - proper shoes and water; the oriole is wild and owes no appearances, which the forest compensates regardless.

Nearby

Brades, the MVO and the northern beaches.