Grenada Concierge · Grenada, West Indies

TheSpice Isle
Field Guide

A naturalist's guide to the wildlife and wild beauty of Grenada, from the rainforest canopy to the reef and the garden wall

Browse All Species

Grenada is small enough to cross in a morning, and rich enough to keep you looking for years.

This guide is our gift to you. Grenada is barely twenty-one miles long, yet within that span you will find cloud forest and crater lakes, mangrove and dry thorn scrub, coral reef and pale, turtle-nesting beaches. The island earned its name, the Isle of Spice, from the nutmeg and cocoa that still scent its air, and that same fertility shows in the creatures and the flowering that surround you.

Over the following pages we have gathered more than fifty of the birds, animals, reef dwellers, spices, fruit and flowers you may meet here. We have grouped them by where they live: the birds of the air, the creatures of land and shore, the life beneath the waves, and the island’s spices, fruit and flowers.

Carry it with you on a forest walk, a morning at sea, or a slow garden lunch. And when you would like to see any of it properly, with a guide who knows the right trail and the right hour, simply ask. We know, because we live here.

— Warmly, Grenada Concierge

Where Life Gathers

Grenada's Habitats

1
Rainforest & Cloud Forest

The cool, green heart of the island around Grand Etang and the Mt St Catherine range. Home to the mona monkey, hummingbirds, the tree boa, heliconia and giant silk cotton trees.

2
Dry Forest & Thorn Scrub

The warm, low south-west, all cactus and hardy deciduous trees. The last refuge of the Grenada dove and the endemic hook-billed kite.

3
Coast, Beach & Reef

Pale sand, sea grape and turquoise water giving way to coral. Pelicans and boobies fish the surface while turtles, rays and parrotfish go about their lives below.

4
Mangrove & Wetland

The quiet nurseries of the sea, at Levera, Woburn and La Sagesse. Tangled red mangrove shelters young fish and crabs.

5
Gardens, Estates & Spice Groves

The lived-in landscape. Bananaquits, tanagers and grackles share the working estates of nutmeg, cocoa and fruit.

Orientation

Where to Find It

The six parishes of Grenada, and seven corners worth seeking out, each with its own wild reward. Click a marker to explore.

Saint Patrick Saint Mark Saint Andrew Saint John Saint George Saint David Sauteurs Victoria Grenville Caribbean Sea Atlantic Ocean Carriacou, to the north N Stylised map. Parish boundaries approximate. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Levera Beach, north-east

Leatherback turtles nest by moonlight, April to July.

2 Belmont Estate, north-east

Cocoa, and tree-to-bar Grenadian chocolate.

3 Grand Etang, central highlands

Mona monkeys, rainforest, heliconia and a crater lake.

4 Gouyave, west coast

The working nutmeg station, heart of the Isle of Spice.

5 Mt Hartman & Perseverance, south-west

Dry forest refuge of the Grenada dove.

6 Molinere Bay, west coast

Hawksbill turtles, reef fish and snorkelling.

7 Grand Anse & St George's, south-west

Brown pelicans, the capital and the famous beach.

What to See When

All Year
Always here

Hummingbirds, bananaquits, mockingbirds and grackles in every garden. Reef life, iguanas and the nightly whistling frog.

Jan — May
Dry season

The finest birding and calmest seas for snorkelling and diving. Clear skies and the easiest walking in the dry forest.

Dec — Apr
Migration & whales

Whales and dolphins offshore, including humpbacks passing through, best seen on a calm-water charter.

Apr — Jul
Turtle nesting

Leatherback turtles nest by night at Levera, with the peak in May and June. Always with a licensed guide.

May — Jul
Bloom & harvest

The flamboyant sets the island on fire with scarlet bloom, and mango season arrives in glorious abundance.

Jun — Dec
Green season

Warm rain brings the forest to its lushest. August is Carnival, Spicemas. The hurricane season runs to November.

Jul — Oct
Hatchlings

Turtle hatchlings emerge and scramble to the sea, roughly two months after nesting.

Watching Wisely

Keep Your Distance

Admire and photograph, but do not feed, touch or crowd wild animals. Their wildness is the whole point.

Turtles Need the Dark

Only ever watch nesting turtles with a licensed guide. No torches or camera flash on the beach.

The Reef Is Fragile

Never stand on or touch coral, and take nothing living from the sea. Reef-safe sunscreen helps.

The Grenada Dove Is Ours Alone

This bird exists nowhere else on the planet, and fewer than one hundred remain.

Shall we show you

From touchdown to departure, and everything in between

A guided rainforest walk, a turtle watch in season, a chocolate estate, a reef morning with a dive guide, or a quiet hour birding the dry forest. Tell us what caught your eye, and we take care of the rest.

hello@grenadaconcierge.com