The Verdant Hill That Overlooks the Sea
San Fernando is a southern city in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and one of it's most recognizable and fondest features is a hill that rises high in the midst of the town and is visible for miles! I've only just brushed on it before but I've never shown you guys the official San Fernando Hill site. So today, we explore the San Fernando hill lookout, what it has to offer and the beautiful views that comes with it!
The San Fernando Hill, also referred to as the Naparima Hill is the highest point of the Naparima Plains (south Trinidad). Once higher than it is today, the hill was subject to relentless and unregulated quarrying in the 70's due to the oil boom at the time. The argillite rock that the hill consists of was needed for construction. Protests by the population ensued which saved the hill, not before almost a third of the mass was lost. Today the hill stands verdantly, a respected monument and recreation centre of the southern city.
It was such a rainy day, but I love the cold, wet days so this was no deterrent. To get to the summit of the Hill, one must take a steep, winding road through beautiful trees and vegetation, with glimpses of the beautiful city and seafront below.
The road that leads up the side of the hill and into the lookout car park.
At the entrance of the lookout area, you are greeted by a weathered sign and beautiful sitting and picnic areas. Needless to say there were no picnics at this time, with the weather and all. There was a noisy (albeit fun sounding) party going on in one of the gazebos.
Parking is ample and the main building as well as public facilities are not too far away from anything!
There are many gazebos and picnic areas on the hill. They were quite empty today because of the rain.
Rained Out!
Atleast some people were having fun with us!
A nice little walkway to the eastern side of the lookout.
Towards the eastern facing side of the lookout, there is a large vertical extension of rock that seems to have been left over. There is also a much larger mass of hill on the southern side of the lookout as well.
Extension of rock on the eastern side.
Leftover mass of hill on the southern side.
I also found some resident doggos near the southern side of the lookout!
Don't ask me if this was illegal, I'm pretty sure no one was hurt.
The main building serves mainly as the visitation centre, office and public facilities.
The thing about the Hill, is that the way it is shaped, the reveal of the grand view of the world below is somewhat dramatic! At first all you see is road, trees, glimpses of houses and buildings and then BAM! A wide panoramic view of the western city side and seafront. Even on a rainy cloudy day, the view is still breath taking!
This is the western seafront as I've mentioned, but the direction of view is northwards. This means that you can see (in the distance), the central mountain range as well as the northern range! See if you can make it out! The remarkable thing about this, really, is that you're seeing most of the western coastline of the Island all the way to the tip!
Directly western view.
Here are the North Eastern, South Eastern, obliquely eastern, and other views!
North Eastern View.
Obliquely Eastern View
South Eastern View
A view of the massive drop that one can easily fall off if one is not careful!
Some Stylized Shots!
I can't go anywhere, take pictures and not do some stylized edits of some of the shots I've taken!
One of the reasons I love rainy days!
I Took the opportunity to do some portraits too. Best background for this type of photography.
Such a wonderful and heartwarming sunset, brought a tear to my eye.
For a rainy, cloudy day, the visibility was awesome and the weather only added to the experience! I learnt a lot about the history of the hill and its story. The views were phenomenal and the camera did no justice. I hope you guys enjoyed the adventure and the majestic views!
