I have been coming to Nevis since I was 10 months old and I have returned fairly frequently ever since. It’s only at my big age that I learnt that Nevis had a waterfall – not just one, but 12!

I saw a reel from @foodforkash, (follow her for all things food & Nevis related!), where she had gone on a hike to said waterfalls. I messaged her and she pointed me in the direction of Michael at Island Buzz Tours. I shot off a message immediately and, thankfully, Michael had space for me to join the waterfall hike the day after.

We met at the meeting point in the morning, (more on this later), and set off along the trail toward the waterfalls.

The surrounding area used to be a plantation, the remains of which can still be seen with the stone walls, old water troughs and bridges that would have played their part in daily plantation life. Michael is super knowledgeable about the history of the area, the island itself and about the nature you’re walking amongst. We had various pauses to take in the different medicinal plants, awe-inspiring banyan trees and even cocoa trees, (another thing I didn’t know we had in Nevis!).

Somewhere along the trail, you’ll see the natural pools of crystal clear water and hear the unmistakeable sound of it running – we had reached our first waterfall!

The waterfalls became public knowledge in 2009 and the trail developed to visit them in 2015. There are 12 in total, but only 7 that are safe to visit. Once we had seen waterfall 1, we were given the option to continue onto the others that required a little more effort to get to. Due to the rain the previous day, the trail going up to waterfall 6 & 7 was super muddy and slippy, so our group decided to stick with visiting up to waterfall 5. The waterfalls in Nevis are beautiful reminders of the islands natural beauty. Surrounded by reddish coloured volcanic rock, they’re definitely something to look at as opposed to swim in, (like Dunn’s River in Jamaica).

I would 100% recommend Island Buzz Tours if you’re looking to do something active. They have a range of excursions on both St. Kitts & Nevis. Michael is everything you want in a guide – he is responsive over message, clearly passionate about the islands and will take care of you and your group throughout your trip. At one point, he literally physically pointed out where exactly to get your footing for every single person when coming back down on a tricky stretch of trail.

My dodgy-ass knees and ankles made it unscathed, (which is my yardstick btw), so I’d say this waterfall hike is middle of the road in terms of difficulty. You can make it more so if you choose to visit the optional waterfalls. The hike is approx. 3 miles and takes around 4 hours. Make sure you’ve got good footwear and defo. take a bottle of water. Snacks are recommended if you get peckish/need the energy, (I didn’t take any and I was fine). The meeting point is a little off the beaten track but as a note, if you think you can’t possibly be on the right road – you probably are! The tour was $40/EC$100 and you can book directly with Michael through social media, (FB, Insta & TikTok), or the website.

I seriously learnt so much on this hike about the island I love so dearly and have seen a side to it that I never knew existed. Next year I’d love to do the Nevis Peak hike – anyone fancy joining?