Diana's Peak

Saint Helena's spine rises to Diana's Peak at 823 metres, and the summit ridge keeps the island's rarest world: cloud forest of black cabbage trees and tree ferns - species that evolved here and exist nowhere else - dripping in the trade-wind mists that water a national park restored plant by plant from near-loss. The Peaks trail walks the ridge between the three summits, flax-era history and endemic gumwoods telling the island's ecological story, and clear moments open the whole South Atlantic prospect: the island's ridges falling to an ocean empty to every horizon.

Background

The peak is of volcanic origin and, at 818 metres, the highest point on Saint Helena. The mountain and its surroundings, 81 ha in all, became the island's first national park in March 1996. Its endangered endemic plants include tree fern, he cabbage, black cabbage trees and whitewood, and a nursery for endemic species sits on the northern slopes. Paths link Mt. Actaeon (814m), Diana's Peak and Cuckold's Point (815m), and large Norfolk pines crown the two lower summits. The peak marks the point where the districts of Sandy Bay, Levelwood and Longwood meet, and the nearest settlements are Bamboo Hedge, Hutt's Gate and Levelwood Village.

Source: Wikipedia, "Diana's Peak"

What's there

• The endemic cloud forest - cabbage trees and ferns of this island only.
• The Peaks ridge trail - the three-summit traverse.
• The restoration story - a flora pulled back from the brink.
• The Atlantic prospect - ocean empty to every horizon.

When to go

December to May, the island's kinder season, with mornings beating the mist that owns the ridge by afternoon; the endemics flower to their own calendars.

What to expect

Paths are steep, muddy and mist-slick by design - the cloud forest is a weather system with scenery; views are a lottery the forest itself insures against.

Nearby

The central ridges, Plantation House and Jamestown's valley.

Key facts