Gros Piton is one of two mountains south of the town Soufrière in the southwest of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...

. Lying at the southern end of Pitons Bay

Pitons

The Pitons are two volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 771 m, and the Petit Piton is 743 m high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge.- Geography :...

, it rises to a height of 786 m (2619 ft). It is the second highest peak on Saint Lucia, after Mount Gimie

Mount Gimie

Mount Gimie is the tallest mountain on the island of St. Lucia. The mountain's peak reaches 950 m . It is of volcanic origin and is covered by lush tropical rainforest....

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The mountain was a refuge to the escaped slaves at some point -- the steep slopes made it an easily defensible position. According to locals, the slave-owners introduced snakes to punish the escapees, but the modern science believes the only venomous snake found on St. Lucia to be endemic to the island.

Climbing

Gros Piton can be climbed without ropes or mountaineering experience -- a decent physical shape will let one hike to the summit and come back down to the sea-level within a few hours. Local guides are available for hire (typically through the resorts) and are trained by the government to have basic knowledge of the languages common among tourists and of the medical procedures required in case of common accidents.

Marijuana-growing

It is common knowledge among the locals (and the guides) that marijuana is grown on the slopes of the mountain. A tourist may, on occasion, encounter a machete

Machete

The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...

-armed man going to his post to guard such a plantation -- as the stuff begins to reach maturity, it is often a target of theft.