Saint Mark

Saint Mark is Grenada's smallest parish, set along the island's rugged west coast between Saint John and Saint Patrick. Known locally as the "Sunset Parish", it combines a working fishing port, quiet coastal villages and steep green ridges, with the small town of Victoria as its administrative centre and main settlement.

Victoria grew up as a port and market town and still anchors daily life in the parish, while villages such as Waltham, Nonpareil, Industry and Bonair string along the coast. Inland hamlets and former estate lands reflect a history that reaches back to Kalinago settlements, French colonial rule from the 1670s and an 18th-century plantation economy built on coffee, cocoa and sugar.

The parish's strongest draw is its natural landscape. Mount Saint Catherine, the highest peak in Grenada at 840 metres, rises in the southeast, while Tufton Hall Waterfall drops through rainforest and the geothermal Hapsack Springs add a less-travelled side of the interior. Traces of the past remain visible in Amerindian petroglyphs at Victoria, Waltham and Duquesne and in historic churches and estate buildings around Victoria.

Small-scale experiences define a visit here: tree-to-bar chocolate at Diamond and Crayfish Bay, coastal drives to fishing villages, and the monthly Sunset City Food Festival in Victoria, alongside the annual Saint Mark's Day Festival in April. There is little large-scale tourism, which is part of the parish's unhurried appeal.

For travellers, Saint Mark works best as a nature-focused contrast to the capital, reached from Maurice Bishop International Airport by road through Saint John or Saint Patrick. It suits independent visitors, hikers and food-focused day trippers, while business travel remains limited to small local enterprises and agricultural interests.