What is the Mastic Trail?
The answer to this question is complex and can best be answered
by a walk on the Trail itself. The Mastic Trail is a wilderness
experience. It is a real hike in the woods. It is deep shade,
old-growth forest and a stronghold for the Cayman Island’s
Parrot. It is native songbirds, endemic and medicinal plants,
and it is a good workout! It is lush green meadows; it is
Cayman’s early history, it is a geology lesson. It
is a complete change from brilliant waters, bright sunshine
and beaches. It is a surprise. Most people, even some of
those born and raised in the Cayman Islands, never knew that
there was such a forest – yes, a forest – on
this busy and well-developed island.
As you enter this historic trail, used for two centuries
by Caymanians traveling between the north and south coasts,
you will pass through a mosaic of habitats and ecosystems.
The trail begins in the Black Mangrove Forest - mysterious,
gothic and fascinating. As the land rises, the foliage changes
and becomes more diverse. A variety of tropical trees and
native birds surround you. Moving through the forest, you
pass Silver Thatch “Walks,” trees festooned with
orchids, stately Royal Palms, and bizarre Calabash trees
with huge gourds growing from their trunks. In due course,
you reach the highest point on Grand Cayman - our “continental
divide” at sixty feet above sea level and marked with
a small metal stake.
The trail is working its magic now and the rest of the world
seems far away, but the best is still ahead. A stunning Yellow
Mastic Tree crowns the trail, towering over the forest, draped
in balsam roots and providing a home for a wide variety of
native wildlife. As you sit to rest on the roots of this
huge tree, you are in the “heart of the Mastic” surrounded
by a forest that has been continuously above water and undisturbed
for two million years!
As you continue along the path, you will pass a hundred
different species of trees and over five hundred varieties
of endemic native plants. A feeling of peace - almost euphoria,
envelops the hiker who is immersed in this untouched part
of the forest. You are pleasantly exercised, breathing freshly
manufactured oxygen from the plant life all around, surrounded
by birdsong and beauty, excited by the unusual animals you
have spotted and just two thirds of the way along the trail.
Various points of interest line the next section of the
Mastic Trail, from the “giraffe trees” (so named
because of their unusual shape) to the mysterious fissure
zone, to the old coastline of the island, where 125,000 years
ago the ocean lapped the shore.
As you emerge into the sunny agricultural land at the north
end of the trail, and back to civilization, take a moment
to look back at the green ridge which you have just left
and reflect upon all that it holds. You have been privileged
to glimpse an ancient forest and an amazing variety of plants
and wildlife. You now know what the Mastic Trail is, and
will want to return again and again with friends and family
to escape the cares of the world and experience the beauty
and tranquility that is found in abundance on the trail.
The National Trust owns four hundred acres of the Mastic
Trail that have been declared “inalienable”.
This land will never be cleared or developed and cannot be
sold. The Trust is raising funds to purchase the remaining
six hundred acres. Funds raised from the sale of the Trust’s
new Mastic Trail Guide will be earmarked for this purpose
and donations are gratefully accepted and deposited in a
special account fittingly called “Forests Forever”.
The Mastic Trail is not a loop trail. Contact the National
Trust for the Cayman Islands to arrange a guided tour or
to purchase a Trail Guide.
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