Parks on peaks.

• Author: Murphy-Larronde, Suzanne
• Position: AMERICA !OJO! - Pitons Management Area

ST. LUCIA'S eleven-square-mile volcanic complex, known as the Pitons Management Area, is located on the island's southwest coast near the fishing village of Soufriere. In addition to its two dramatic spires, this unique site encompasses a geothermal field containing sulfurous fumeroles and hot springs and a thriving, shoreline marine reserve. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. According to Peter Hilary Modeste, St. Lucia's director of tourism, the new status "will greatly enhance the symbolic and economic value of the area and provide further incentive to develop tourism in harmony with the local culture and environment."

Indeed, conservationists and developers have battled for decades over the future of St. Lucia's emblematic Pitons, and important victories have been claimed by both sides. In the 1980s, Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott and other islanders lost their fight to block construction of a luxury hotel on 480 acres of Amerindian terrain between the two lava and rock cones. But several years later, they did succeed in halting the development of a ninety-acre resort complex destined for the forested slopes and summit of Gros Piton, where guests were to be transported by an aerial tramway.

Today, with no man-made conveyance at their disposal, those desiring a view from atop either 2,619-foot Gros Piton or 2,460-foot Petit Piton must hike their way up and do so with the aid of a local professional guide. Although it is the lower of the two mountains, slender Petit Piton, is, in fact, the less accessible, requiring considerable climbing skills and specialized equipment to complete an assault on its summit.

On wider Gros Piton, however, hikers follow a steep, but well-maintained trail on their four-hour round trip...