San Fernando Hill

San Fernando Hill rises out of the middle of the country's second city and was for a long time its landmark, a wooded cone visible from far out in the Gulf of Paria. Quarrying from the 1930s took a great deal of it away and the profile is now cut and terraced rather than conical. It was closed to quarrying and turned into a park in the 1980s, with a road to the top, viewing platforms over the city, the gulf and the industrial south, and picnic areas.

What you actually see

• The city view - San Fernando, the Gulf of Paria and the southern industrial belt.
• The quarry scars - the cut faces left by decades of stone extraction.
• The summit park - viewing platforms, paths and picnic areas at the top.
• The Amerindian significance - the hill's importance to the island's first peoples.

When to go

January to May is driest and clearest. Late afternoon gives the best light over the gulf. The park closes in the evening.

Honest expectations

The quarrying has permanently disfigured the hill and the shape it is famous for is gone. The park is basic and maintenance is uneven. Haze often limits the view.

Nearby

San Fernando is below, and Pointe-a-Pierre is north.