St Lucia is a gorgeous place to holiday, with a wealth of fantastic attractions that will create a lifetime of memories.
If you’re visiting St. Lucia, be sure to include St Lucia’s famous Sulphur Springs as one of your “must visits.”
The Sulphur Springs is a popular tourist attraction and has been since it opened to visitors in the 1980s, and for a good reason.
Where else in the world can you drive straight into what was once an active volcano?
Location and Brief History of the Sulphur Springs
The Sulphur Springs is in the southwestern part of St. Lucia, near the town of Soufriere.
This part of St. Lucia was a Sulphur mine until 1840, and the unmistakable smell still fragrances the air.
540 tones were extracted from the earth in one year before production ceased.
The Sulphur Springs is now a well-known tourist attraction and the world’s only drive-in volcano.
There aren’t many places you can go where you can wander into a volcano.
But, don’t worry, the volcano’s last major eruption was over 40,000 years ago, and it is now considered dormant.
Despite being dormant, there is still much evidence of the volcanic activity that created the land that surrounds it.
You can tell by cracks in the ground which still belch out sulphuric steam and the hot pools that are kept warm by the cooling magma below the surface of the earth. Cool, huh?
The St. Lucia Sulphur Springs is a Geological Wonder
If you are interested in geology and the processes that formed the earth millennia ago, there will be much to catch your eye as you walk around this fascinating place.
It’s a great opportunity to get up close and personal with a dormant volcano and get a glimpse of how young earth must have looked, as it formed millions of years before humans even existed.
Even if geology doesn’t interest you, it’s still an amazing place to visit.
Get a Unique Mud bath at the Sulphur Springs
The mud bath is one of the major things that attracts visitors to the St. Lucia Sulphur Springs. Since the black water springs are so calm, many visitors wonder what it was like when the volcano was active.
You can walk right up to the hot springs and look around and opt for a bath in a naturally heated pool.
The temperature of the hot pool is around 45 degrees Celsius, similar to the temperature of a hot bath or sauna. The pools are contained in concrete sections, making it convenient and easy to get in and out.
When you visit the Sulphur Springs, you will not only have a chance to bathe in the dark Sulphur water, but you will get to cover yourself with volcanic mud, which is reportedly great for what ails you.
The next step is to stand around in the warm sun and let the mud dry on your skin, which is a good opportunity to have a chat with your fellow travelers, and take cheeky photos of yourself and your traveling companions all covered in mud.
Next, jump back into the warm water and rinse off the mud.
You should bring a dark-colored swimsuit; anything white or pale colored may never be the same again after the Sulphur Springs mud bath experience!
The mud bathing experience can be great for helping to ease sore and tired joints. Also, it is very therapeutic for the skin.
People pay lots of money for hot mud baths and similar skin treatments at expensive Spas.
A visit to the St. Lucia Sulphur Springs will give you an authentic mud bathing experience, for a fraction of the price.
How to Get to the Sulphur Springs in St. Lucia?
You can get to the Sulphur Springs on your own using a map of St. Lucia, but getting a tour guide is a more convenient option.
If you book a trip to the Sulphur springs with one of St. Lucia’s local tour operators, you will have the option of having a guided tour plus a mud bath or just a guided tour of the Sulphur Springs.
Neither of these choices is going to break the bank and will give you fantastic memories, and allow you to capture hilarious photos of you and your loved ones slathered from head to toe in volcanic mud.
A tour of the Sulphur Springs lasts a little over 30 minutes. You’ll walk along well-kept paths which are accessible even if you’re not desperately keen on walking.
If you are looking for something a bit different to do on your holiday in St Lucia, you should consider visiting the Sulphur Springs.
It will be a fascinating and fun experience and will give you something interesting to tell the folks back home about.
The knowledgeable and friendly guides at the Sulphur Springs know their stuff and will give you plenty of information about the place and surrounding areas. Guides are also happy to answer any questions you may have about the place.
So, Visit the Sulphur Springs if you’re in our neck of the woods. It will be an unforgettable experience and one that very few other vacation destinations have to offer.
Kate is a co-founder and author of IslanderKeys. She is a loving wife and mother who enjoys taking care of her family. Kate is a customer service expert and healthcare administrator by profession. She loves to cook, shop online and share her knowledge about St. Lucia online and, when she meets people on her travels locally and abroad.
