Born from the seafloor in a sequence of violent volcanic eruptions, Grenada is a tropical, three-island Caribbean country located 90 miles (145km) north of Venezuela. Part of the Lesser Antilles chain, it consists of the main island of Grenada and its neighbouring constituencies, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Visitors can look forward to lush soils and a rolling mountainous interior, where breathtaking waterfalls gush down from the centre to meet the sea. Hikes through Grenada’s verdant jungle make for a truly memorable nature experience. Couple that with unblemished beaches, billowing sails criss-crossing an azure coastline, a low-key lifestyle and unrivalled diving sites such as the wreck of the Bianca C, and visitors have one of the most overlooked tropical havens in the Caribbean.
Heady fragrances of nutmeg and clove and a warm-hearted reception greet visitors to the ‘Spice Island’s’ friendly capital, St. George’s. The red-tiled roofs, Georgian architecture and central spice market make it one of the Caribbean’s most charming centres, complemented by a picturesque natural harbour. Sun-worshippers can choose from 45 beautiful beaches, the most popular being the two-mile (3km) long Grand Anse Beach. Or, they can seek out one of the many secluded beaches a little further afield.
Initially inhabited by Kalinago settlers from the Amazonian basin in South America, Grenada later became an unwilling station of European expansion, the effects of which are evident in the people, architecture and cuisine of the modern country. First invaded by the Spanish in violent slave raids, the resident Kalinago were then largely wiped out by French colonialists who exploited the land for large-scale sugarcane plantations and brought slaves in from West Africa to work them. Britain succeeded France, with Grenada only gaining independence from the British in 1974.
Grenada is a poor country but the friendly disposition of the locals, the vibrant Afro-Caribbean culture, joyful calypso music and dancing tradition, and the picturesque tropical location more than make up for the lack of infrastructure. Grenada has long been a favourite port of call for yachties, divers and holidaymakers alike, offering some of the best scuba diving in the region, with coral gardens, an underwater volcano and the largest underwater shipwreck in the Caribbean, not to mention the alluring homemade Caribbean cuisine and lip-smacking seafood.
