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.

Background

Officially the hill is Naparima Hill, though locals call it The Hill. This 192-m outcrop of argillite is the highest point of the Naparima Plains. It was once nearly dome-shaped with a flattened top and carried semi-evergreen forest, largely replaced by cultivated species. In the oil boom of the 1970s, demand for argillite aggregate pushed quarrying so far that the hill lost more than a third of its size. It became part of the 1980 National Parks and Protected Areas plan, and the Forestry Division built a visitor centre and recreation area. About 3/4 of the hill is former quarry, replanted with the fast-growing tree Leucaena leucocephala after research by Tyrone Kalpee. On a clear day Venezuela's coast is visible.

Source: Wikipedia, "San Fernando Hill"

What you'll find

• 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.

Good to know

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.

Key facts