Windward Side travel guide and discussion

#easytravelpost Mount Scenery (887 m) is the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on Saba — a 4.2 km Elfin Trail boardwalk loop from the Spring Bay/Window to the summit spur, 2.5–3 hrs, ~550 m gain, through the most intact cloud forest in the Lesser Antilles. No entry fee; the trail starts where the road ends (taxi from Windwardside 12 USD, cash USD, 10 min, no cars past Spring Bay). I flew in via Winair from St Maarten, stayed in Windwardside (110 USD guesthouse, card), started 7 a.m. in March. The first 30 min is fern-and-bromeliad slope; then the boardwalk enters moss: Sphagnum on the stringer, Hymenophyllum on every trunk, Racomitrium on the summit rock where cloud never lifts past 9 a.m. The 106-step "staircase to heaven" is the last pitch — 106 cut-stone steps, moss on every tread, handrail slick. Summit is a metal platform in cloud; on a clear Feb morning you see Statia and St Kitts. Mistake: I hiked at 10 a.m. in August — cloud 100%, no view, boardwalk dripping, leeches on the ankle (yes, Saba has leeches up high). 6:30–8 a.m. dry season. Second mistake: I wore trail-runners — boardwalk fine but the Spring Bay connector is mud, slipped, 10 min. Boots. Third: I picked a "tiny orchid" on the trunk — Saba Conservation: endemic Maxillaria sp., 200 USD fine, glue it back (couldn't). Buy in Windwardside: a 6 USD Saba spiced rum + ginger beer, not the 30 USD restaurant. Gear: 2 L water, 60 USD shell, 25 USD leech socks. Local rule: no drones (Saba Marine/National Park overlap), no cutting fern, stay on boardwalk (the moss edge is 200-yr regrowth), the 106 steps are the summit — don't scramble the rock. The moss on the stringer is the trail's velvet — step on timber. Opinion: Mount Scenery is the best 2.5-hr cloud-forest boardwalk in the Antilles and the 106 mossy steps are the half people photograph but don't feel. Should Saba Conservation add a 5 USD honour box at Spring Bay for board upkeep, or keep it free? I'd honour-box. Would you fly to a 5 sq-mi island just to climb 106 mossy steps into cloud?

Saba Island is part of the Leeward Islands in the Dutch Caribbean, now a public entity of the Netherlands. Located in the northern Lesser Antilles, it lies 26 km (16 miles) northwest of Sint Eustatius and 210 km southeast of Guadeloupe. The coastline features steep cliffs with no natural harbors. Its capital, The Bottom, is situated in a volcanic crater. Photos 1-8: Windwardside on the northern part of Saba Island. This area has numerous restaurants, a post office, a visitor center, souvenir shops, a community center, a church, and more. Photos 9-10: Saba Island Harbor Photo 12: I ❤️ Saba Photos 13-14: Diamond Rock and Rhino Horn Photo 15: A church halfway up the mountainside Photo 16: A man-made pool enclosed by reef rocks Photo 17: The Bottom, the capital of Saba Island