Pic Paradis and the Hills

Rising to some 424 metres at the island's centre, Pic Paradis is the highest point of Saint-Martin and the green, forested heart of an island better known for its beaches. Its slopes, cloaked in tropical dry forest, are laced with hiking trails leading up to viewpoints that command sweeping panoramas over the whole island, its bays, lagoons and, on clear days, the neighbouring islands. On the hillside, the Loterie Farm, a private nature reserve set on an old plantation, offers marked forest trails, treetop rope courses and ziplines through the canopy, and pools, providing a lush, adventurous and refreshing escape from the sun and sand of the coast below.

What you actually see

• The Pic Paradis viewpoints - the panoramas over the whole island.
• The forest trails - the hikes through tropical dry forest.
• Loterie Farm - the nature reserve, ziplines and treetop courses.
• The green interior - the lush hills above the beaches.

When to go

December to April, the drier season, for the best hiking conditions and clearest views, though the forested hills are green year-round; go in the cooler morning hours for the walk up, and clear days offer the finest panoramas over the island. The ziplines and reserve activities run year-round.

Honest expectations

Pic Paradis is a modest peak and its trails are gentle-to-moderate rather than a grand mountain adventure, so its appeal is the sweeping island views, forest and the zipline reserve rather than dramatic wilderness, and the island rebuilt after 2017's Hurricane Irma. As a lush, green interior escape from the beaches, with fine panoramas, forest trails and treetop ziplines, though, Pic Paradis and Loterie Farm offer a refreshing and adventurous contrast to the coast.

Nearby

Marigot, the beaches and the town of Grand Case are within reach.