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Grenada
The Spice Isle of nutmeg, rainforest, and reefs
Grenada is known as the Spice Isle, and the scent of nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon still drifts through its markets and clings to its national identity, even appearing on its flag. This small volcanic island and its dependencies in the southeastern Caribbean hold around 117,000 people amid rainforested mountains, crater lakes, waterfalls, and a famously picturesque capital climbing the hills above a horseshoe harbor. Beneath the tranquil surface lies a dramatic recent history, including a 1983 US-led invasion that briefly made the island world news.
Grenada is volcanic and lushly green, rising to Mount St. Catherine at 840 meters, with crater lakes like Grand Etang set among cloud forest. Hot springs, rivers, and waterfalls thread the interior, while reefs and an underwater sculpture park draw divers offshore. The dependencies of Carriacou and Petite Martinique extend the nation northward. The tropical climate sits near the southern edge of the hurricane belt, though Ivan struck hard in 2004.
Contested by France and Britain and shaped by African heritage from the sugar era, Grenada became independent in 1974. A 1979 socialist revolution and its violent collapse triggered the 1983 invasion. Nutmeg and cocoa long anchored the economy, now joined by tourism and education, including a large American medical school. Spice exports, tourism, and storm resilience define the present.