Bunny Visits Grenada’s Mt Carmel Falls
Grenada is known for its picture-perfect beaches but also for its lush, green interior that hides a number of gorgeous waterfalls. Many visitors are familiar with Annandale Falls, Concorde Falls and Seven Sisters Waterfalls which are all relatively easy to visit from the capital of St. George’s.
But Bunny’s favourite waterfall in Grenada is Mt Carmel Falls. It is a beautiful, serene place. Most crucially, thanks to its location, it is the least-visited of Grenada’s bigger waterfalls.
Mt Carmel Falls
Mt Carmel Falls (also known as Royal Mt Carmel Falls and/or Marquis Falls) is actually the country’s tallest waterfall at 70 feet. Mt Carmel also hides a secret that Bunny will reveal below.
Location
Mt. Carmel Falls is located on the eastern side of the island, approximately two miles south of Grenada’s second city, Grenville. It is easy to reach by car; driving from the Grand Anse area takes under an hour.
The entrance to Mt Carmel Falls is easy (too easy) to miss just off the Eastern Main Rd. There are usually local people hanging out at the crossroads, waving you down to help you find the entrance and a parking place along the Mt Carmel Rd. No surprise, they will also offer their guiding services.
Don’t follow Google Maps' directions to the falls as they will take you way too far. If you have any doubts, pull over and politely ask any local folks around who will be happy to steer you in the right direction.
If you are taking public transportation, bus number 2, travelling between St. George’s and Grenville, stops right at the entrance of Mt Carmel Falls.
Entrance Fee
Mt Carmel Falls is located on private land so there is a small, cash-only entrance fee. You pay it to the staff at a small structure at the beginning of the foot path.
When the Bunnies visited, a very friendly security guard called David collected the modest entrance fee of 2,50 EC (1 USD) per person.
Tour Guides
There may also be a number of guys offering their services as tour guides to the falls. You don’t really need a guide as it is a very straightforward 10-minute walk to the falls, but Bunny employed one in any case to support the enterprising local folk.
Just be aware that you are not required to hire a guide but it can be useful if you want to experience the falls in full (more on that below). Some of the guides may seem to suggest it’s mandatory, but it’s entirely optional.
Hiking
The path to the waterfall is well-worn and mostly flat. Bunny wouldn’t even call it a hike - rather a nice stroll in the tropics. The surrounding jungle is very lush, with plenty of tropical trees, such as papayas, bananas and mangos as well as lovely collections of bamboo.
Although the path is easy, sturdy shoes are recommended, particularly if you’re interested in getting up close and personal with the waterfall later.
Exploring the Falls
Mt Carmel Falls is an impressive site at the end of the forest path. It is a precipitous rock block with a wide flow of water pouring over its top. There are big (slippery) boulders at the foot of the falls that you can traverse if you want to experience a unique tropical shower.
The Bunnies settled for admiring the falls from a little further away but did take up their guide’s offer to scramble to the top of the falls, following a path on the right hand side. Bunny would never have embarked on that adventure on her own but happily followed the nimble guide, even if the climb was a bit fur-raising at times. Lots of thick roots made for good handholds along the scramble.
Once they made it to the top, it was very cool to ditch the hiking boots and wade on the slick rocks of the river barefooted. Bunny ventured all the way (almost) to the edge of the waterfall, looking down at the impressive 70-feet drop below. Not for the faint-hearted…
Lower Falls
The Bunnies were lucky to have Mt Carmel Falls to themselves the morning they visited but the guide still had another surprise up his sleeve.
The secret to this place is that there are actually two different waterfalls at Mt Carmel. The main star is naturally the 70-foot high cascade but there is also a lower waterfall that is worth a visit. This is where the guide took the Bunnies next.
The Lower Falls are located along the same foot path as the main falls. You just have to cross the river soon after the newly-constructed wooden bridge near the beginning of the hike (or the end of your return journey). Just a few dozen more steps further on the other side of the river and you will arrive at a beautiful emerald pool.
This is where most people do their waterfall swim and the bravest ones even slide down the rocks into the pool below. Bunny wouldn’t do any sliding without a guide though. It looked dangerous enough to create some serious injuries if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Sliding is more of an activity for the rainy season anyway, so Bunny settled for swimming to her heart’s content. The water was refreshingly cool on a hot sunny day.
Conclusions
Visiting Mt Carmel Falls is a tranquil nature experience that you should not miss in Grenada. There are no crowds or cruise ship excursions at Mt Carmel, just gorgeous waterfalls and lush nature surrounding you on all sides.
The entrance fee is very modest, the required hike is less than 15 minutes and you don’t even need to hire a guide to reach the falls. Sounds like a perfect day trip to Bunny!
