Caribbean Vacation Experience: St Kitts Scenic Railway
Tour the island of St Kitts aboard the last railway in the West Indies
May 08, 2013 by Thomas McDermott
It’s pretty much everything you imagine “the last railway in the West Indies” ought to be. It’s like something out of an old western film, the soothing rhythm of the tracks thumping beneath you, the swaying of the railway cart as it cuts across the beautiful countryside. It was once a sugar train that carried sugar cane from the fields to the sugar mill in Bassettere.
The St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour gets everything right. As a double decker train, you can choose to relax in one of the air conditioned cars and gaze out through large windows at the rolling hills and the natural Cliffside”s sipping on a rum punch or an ice cold daiquiri. Or you can climb up to the second floor and take in the fresh air. This second floor is like an open air terrace, but don’t worry, you are very much covered from the sun by a wonderful canopy that runs the length of the train and cools you, making this grumbling, lovely thing look more like a double decker bus than a train.
The tour can run about 3 hours and goes in 30 mile circle around the island of St Kitts. What’s so wonderful about this tour is that it’s truly all about the scenic beauty of St. Kitts. Every inch of the way, you’ll have the ocean on one side of you, waves crashing against huge black rocks or against the natural cliff sides. Rolling hills seem to disappear into one another. Mt. Liamiuga always on your mind as it seems to be growing before you, peaking its head out from above a skirt built from a magnificent rain forest. The train will take you under tunnels made of prehistoric trees and over wonderful little bridges that gap the hillsides. If you’re lucky, you’ll pass herds of friendly school children in their school uniforms smiling and waving to you. If you aren’t in love or falling in love with St. Kitts already, you’ll be swept off your feet after this charming little tour.
Some of the places you’ll see.
- St. Paul”s Village, home of St. Kitts Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas
- Brimstone Hill Fortress, the British “Gibraltar of the Caribbean”
- Old Road Town, where Sir Thomas Warner, founder of the English colony on St. Kitts is buried beside his friend Samuel Jefferson, American President Thomas Jefferson”s great great grandfather.
