Saint Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
Located amidst the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, the island posses wonderful climate, magical landscapes and unique local culture, which felt the influence of France and England.
Saint Lucia is a symbol of exoticism and unparalleled Caribbean charm.
The island attracts as a magnet visitors mainly from Europe and America, but also from other parts of the world.
Weather
The climate of Saint Lucia is tropical with high temperatures throughout the year.
Between the coldest month (January) and warmest month (August) the difference in the temperature is only 3-4 degrees.
The average daily temperature in January is 29°C and daily average in August is 32°C.
There are two seasons – dry and rainy.
The rainy season lasts from April to November, which coincides with the hurricane season.
The dry season is the better part of the year for tourism, since then the weather is drier and slightly cooler (if 29°C is cool).
During the winter semester is also much less likely the island to be stricken of some tropical storm.
The annual rainfall of Saint Lucia can reach 3000 mm.
Nature
Because the island’s volcanic origin, it is covered with extremely dense tropical forests.
The reason is that the volcanic ash made the soil very fertile.
This fact in combination with the heavy rains and warm weather all year round is turned the local impenetrable jungles into a maze of plants.
The island is very rich in water.
Numerous small rivers descend at high speed on the steep slopes to the sea.
Saint Lucia owes much to its magnificent beaches.
These are one of the main reasons that lead many wealthy tourists here every year.
Some beaches are covered with dark volcanic sand, but others are snow white and they are more attractive to the tourists.
The western beaches are much more protected from the winds and air masses and therefore there are quite clear and calm sea waters.
To the east there are usually much larger waves and the nature is raw and unspoiled.
Most attractive to the tourists are the west and northwest coast, where are located the most attractive resorts.
In the central part of the island there are many nature reserves and protected areas.
The coral reefs of St. Lucia are very beautiful and are compulsory for those, who love the diving and the under water adventures.
The clear waters of the Caribbean make the experience even more exciting!
Geography
The island of Saint Lucia is among the waters of the Caribbean Sea in the North American continent.
It is situated in the eastern Caribbeans.
It is located at 13 and 14° north latitude and between 60 and 61° west longitude.
Some of the nearest neighbors are St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Martinique and Barbados.
Saint Lucia is part of the so-called Lesser Antilles.
Nearest continental land to the island is Venezuela is South America.
It is situated about 340 km south from the island of Saint Lucia.
Relief
Saint Lucia has a very picturesque landscape.
The highest point of the island is called Mount Gimie and has an altitude of 950 meters.
The attractive forms of this tropical island are formed under the influence of the long time volcanic activity.
The steep mountain slopes, covered with dense tropical vegetation remind with its impressiveness to the mountains in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Population
The population of Saint Lucia is approximately 170,000 inhabitants.
Mulatto and black predominate. They represent about 95% of the total local population.
The remaining 5 percent are composed mainly of immigrants from Britain and France.
The official language of the local population is English, but can be felt French dialect and French influence in the local culture.
The capital Castries, which is situated on the north-west coast is home to approximately 11,000, although the towns of Saint Lucia are located so close to each other, rather look like quarters in the same city, than individual cities and in fact is very difficult to know exactly where one town ends and where begins another town.
Economy
The official currency of the island of Saint Lucia is a Eastern Caribbean Dollar.
The main part of the gross domestic product is formed by highly developed tourism and the banana production.
Very important, even if not as much as the tourism and the agriculture is also the chemical industry.
The population has an average standard of living that is far behind that of the developed countries of Western Europe and the U.S., but much higher than that in many countries around the world such as Africa for example.
The standard of living in St. Lucia can be compared most closely to that of Eastern Europe.
Interesting Facts
* On 22 February 1979 Saint Lucia became an independent state from Great Britain.
* The island was possession of Spain, France and finally of Britain.
* Today the head of state of Saint Lucia is the Queen of Great Britain.
* The symbol of the island of St. Lucia are the twin volcanoes Piton.
* In the recent years, Saint Lucia became one of the most attractive places to buy a vacation property.