With backs turned to sea and sand, Suketu Mehta and Ian Keown discover nature working her juju at the viridescent core of these island-nations

If you're planning to travel in the blue Caribbean, bring beach slippers. If you're planning to travel in the green Caribbean, bring hiking shoes. You'll do a lot of walking and climbing on verdant hillsides. A swimsuit should be close at hand, because you'll be refreshed on short notice by waterfalls and rain showers. Pack good binoculars as well, to spot, for example, the species of Amazonian parrot native to each island. Island-hopping in the Caribbean frequently means flying in ridiculously small planes that are often off schedule. So leave plenty of room for the unexpected, and carry a good book for long airport waits.

Prices quoted are for July 2006, which is low season.

Dominica
Although Dominica doesn't have luxury resorts, the lack of crowds and the friendliness of the locals more than compensate. It is the place to go for long walks—to Boiling Lake, for example, high in the mountains—and to bathe in cool forest waterfalls. Although the island is only 29 miles long, its highest peak, Mount Diablotin, rises nearly 5,000 feet. Kent Auguiste, an excellent guide to the Carib Reserve, works for Ken's Hinterland Adventure Tours. Sonya James also guides for Ken's and knows the island well (866-880-0508; kenshinterlandtours.com; from $140 for four people). The Rainforest Aerial Tram was, until recently, the only one of its kind in the Caribbean (another opened on St. Lucia in March). It travels through the canopy—50 to 300 feet aboveground—in an emergent rain forest. A favorite cruise ship excursion, it makes for a good introduction to Dominica's flora and fauna (767-448-8775; rainforesttram.com; $55 per person).

The best place to stay is the Fort Young Hotel, in Roseau (the capital). The rooms have great views of the sunsets beyond the cruise ships pulling out to sea (767-448-5000; fortyounghotel.com; doubles, $85–$150). At the Beau Rive, a wonderful little guesthouse on the eastern (Atlantic) coast, the three-course dinner is a steal at $25 per person (767-445-8992; beaurive.com; doubles, $145). Jungle Bay, at Dominica's southern tip, is truly a get-away-from-it-all place. The bungalows are on stilts, as if you're living in a tree house. When the resort opened in March of last year, few of the advertised facilities were working, but it now has a yoga center and an open-air spa (767-446-1789; junglebaydominica.com; doubles, $159). Exotica has eight cottages, but better yet, it has the Sugar Apple Café and Fae Martin's organic Creole food (767-448-8839; exotica-cottages.com; doubles, $109; breakfast and dinner, $35 per person). Near Trafalgar Falls, the Papillote Wilderness Retreat has simple rooms, three natural mineral pools, and good local food (767-448-2287; papillote.dm; doubles, $110; breakfast and dinner, $35 per person).

Good spots to catch a bite are the World of Food (48 Cork St.; 767-448-3286; entrées, $9–$20) and La Robe Creole (3 Victoria St.; 767-448-2896; entrées, $10–$34), both in Roseau, and the Green Flash Grille, in tiny Loubiere (767-448-2145; entrées, $15–$25).

Grenada
About a third of Grenada, nicknamed the Isle of Spice, is protected, including the 133-square-mile Grand Étang Forest Preserve, which has three peaks above 2,000 feet. One of them, Grand Étang, has a lake ringed by a path lined with mahogany and gommier trees, the indigenous Grand Étang fern, and the local mountain palm, Prestoea montana. Guides Simon "Mandoo" Seales (473-440-1428; grenadatours.com; half-day tours, $20 per person) and national treasure Telfor Bedeau (473-444-2151; half-day tours, $30 for one person, $25 per person for two or more) lead treks that call for sturdy boots. Adventure Grenada arranges river tubing and off-road trips on jeeps or mountain bikes (473-444-5337; adventuregrenada.com; full-day jeep tour, $70 per person).

A fitting reward after a day of tramping, Bel Air Plantation's 11 pastel-colored, finely appointed cantilevered cottages are embellished by plants grown in the inn's nursery and linked by—what else?—nutmeg shell pathways (473-444-6305; belairplantation.com; doubles, $225–$425). One of the best values in the Caribbean is the Blue Horizons Garden Resort, just off Grand Anse Beach, which offers guest privileges at its sister hotel, the Spice Island Beach Resort (473-444-4316; grenadabluehorizons.com; doubles, $130–$140).

At Boots Cuisine, back in business after having lost its roof in Hurricane Ivan, Roland and Ruby McSween serve home cooking in their house in Woodlands (473-444-2151; five-course prix fixe, $60). Dine sand-side at the Coconut Beach Restaurant, on Grand Anse Beach (473-444-4644; entrées, $14–$31).

Guadeloupe
The eastern wing of this butterfly-shaped French island, Grande-Terre is flat and beachy, but the western wing, Basse-Terre, is green and mountainous (antilles-info-tourisme.com has useful maps and info). About two-thirds of Basse-Terre has been preserved as the Parc National de Guadeloupe—74,100 acres of forested mountains with dramatic cascades and luxuriant foliage. A scenic road, the Route de la Traversée, climbs 2,519 feet up Les Deux Mamelles ("The Two Breasts"), where some of the park's 180 miles of trails lead to bosky fern glades. Or drive up the flanks of La Soufrière volcano from Basse-Terre, the capital, to St-Claude. Park at Bains Jaunes, then follow various trails to fumaroles and mud pits or, more taxingly, up to the moonscape crater itself, another thousand feet up.

The 40-room Hôtel St Georges, the closest hotel to La Soufrière, is modern and businesslike (590-590-80-1010; hotelstgeorges.com; doubles, $110). At the southeastern tip of the island, Le Jardin Malanga is a colonial manoir on a banana plantation. It has a pleasant dining room, traditional Creole cuisine, and nine rooms with contemporary touches (590-590-92-67-57; deshotelsetdesiles.com; doubles, $294). Other dining options include Chez Paul de Matouba, in Rivière Rouge, near La Soufrière (590-590-80-0177; entrées, $10–$32), and Bouillante's Le Rocher de Malendure, which has panoramic views of the Caribbean (590-590-98-7084; entrées, $20–$36).

Jamaica
Its beachy coasts attract visitors, few of whom ever see the heart of the country: The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park covers the eastern third of the island, an area of tropical forests and rugged mountains rising to Blue Mountain Peak (7,402 feet). Within the park, a narrow, winding road leads up to the Holywell Recreation Park, which has hikers' huts and picnic gazebos. With few barriers between car and chasm, the drive is best left to a local guide such as George "Pops" Chance, who provides botany lessons en route—how to make tea with jack-in-the-bush or cure a cold with marigolds. But it's not easy to focus on "witchcraft beans and yellow bill flowers" when the panorama keeps drawing the eyes to ravines and gullies and precarious terraces where hardy farmers grow the famed Blue Mountain coffee beans (876-475-2589; three-hour tour, $60).

About 50 minutes from Kingston, the chic and pricey 12-cottage Strawberry Hill is surrounded by a lush garden. From the dining terrace, when you look up from your jerk rack of lamb with guava glaze, you can see both Kingston and the hills and ravines (876-944-8400; islandoutpost.com; doubles, $670–$1,100, all-inclusive). In Port Antonio, on the north coast, the more affordable Mocking Bird Hill Hotel has low-key style, with handcrafted bamboo furniture and pretty hand-printed fabrics in the ten rooms. The lounge and dining terrace look out on gardens of sweetwood and neem trees, with the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the background. The owners, ardent ecologists, are eager to arrange trips (876-993-7134; hotelmockingbirdhill.com; doubles, $165–$220).

Make a pit stop at the Gap Café and Gift Shoppe, in the Blue Mountains (Hardwar Gap; 876-997-3032; entrées, $9–$12), or sample authentic jerk pork at the roadside stands along Boston Beach, near Port Antonio.

Nevis
Beneath 3,232-foot Nevis Peak, which is usually wreathed in clouds, lies a wonderland of epiphytes and bromeliads, green vervet monkeys and scaly-breasted thrashers—a world apart from the pastoral landscape that makes up most of this 36-square-mile island. A short nature trail into the forest is just 30 minutes round-trip; the more adventurous should opt for the three- to four-hour Water Source Trail. A guide is essential for treks to the sulfurous, half-mile-wide crater, and any of the resorts and plantation inns can find you one (nevisisland.com has links to all lodgings). The 14-room Golden Rock Plantation Inn, however, has the prime location, right at the edge of the forest (869-469-3346; golden-rock.com; doubles, $150–$185). The Hermitage, with 15 rooms and suites in island-style garden cottages, has one of the best dining rooms on the island as well as horseback riding on mounts from the inn's own stables along scenic trails (869-469-3477; hermitagenevis.com; doubles, $170; prix fixe, $55).

St. Lucia
The main attraction has always been the twin conical mountain peaks called the Pitons. Register with the Forest and Lands Department (758-450-2078) to access some of the island's most spectacular hikes: Two of the best are En Bas Saute, a secluded three-mile circuit with a waterfall and a picnic area, and Des Cartiers, a walk along the ridge of La Sorcière. Or amble along the Dorée, a river in the southern part of St. Lucia. Rhikkie Alexander, a former senator who has worked in the forestry department, is now a tour guide (758-451-9237, cell 758-718-2099; rain forest tour, $90). The International Pony Club rents mostly Creole-Thoroughbred horses, and you can take one for an amble along a nearby beach (758-452-8139; internationalponyclub.com; one-hour ride, $40).

St. Lucia has a well-developed infrastructure for tourists. As luxurious a hotel as you'll find—it was the world's highest-rated hotel in the latest Readers' Choice Awards (November 2005)—the mountainside Ladera has six villas and 19 suites with open-air views of the sea and the Pitons (758-459-7323; ladera.com; suites, $280–$380). Stonefield Estate Villa Resort has 20 one- to three-bedroom houses spread across 26 acres (758-459-7037; stonefieldvillas.com; one-bedroom villas, $175–$300). The resort's Mango Tree restaurant overlooks the sea (758-459-7586; entrées, $23–$38). High in the hills above Soufrière, Crystals is a cluster of eco-friendly cottages run by a husband-and-wife team (758-285-1984; stluciacrystals.com; cottages, $140–$300). Ti Kaye is on a forested hillside, with a series of cottages facing the sea, all of which are air-conditioned—a rarity on St. Lucia. The resort's restaurant, surrounded by hibiscus and hummingbirds, serves a wonderful lunch (758-456-8101; tikaye.com; doubles, $160–$300; lunch entrées, $8–$15).

St. Vincent
St. Vincent is a wild and rugged island; although most tourists come here en route to the beaches of the Grenadines, a hike up St. Vincent's La Soufrière volcano will convince you that the hilly main island is equally well worth visiting. Wander the foothills of Grand Bonhomme Mountain via the Vermont Nature Trails, a series of short, well-traveled loops, or explore St. Vincent's flora at the Botanical Gardens in Kingston (784-457-1003). HazECO Tours arranges excursions ranging from a drive through the valleys to a strenuous ascent of La Soufrière (784-457-8634; hazecotours.com; tours, $65–$120). Most hotels will also be happy to book guides.

Petit Byahaut is a resort with five open-air cottages, excellent food, and amazing snorkeling right off the beach of a secluded bay. Rates include all meals—the resort serves wonderful seasonal international cuisine—as well as transport from the airport via water taxi, sports equipment, and trips to the Vermont Nature Trail and Byahaut Bat Cave (no phone; outahere.com/petitbyahaut; doubles, $390). In Kingstown, the capital, the modern, efficient, and centrally located Haddon Hotel has spacious rooms and is a good base from which to explore the island (784-456-1897; newhaddonhotel.com; doubles, $105). The local seafood is excellent, and the islanders welcome any excuse to party; try to visit around big festival times, such as Easter. Most restaurants are in hotels, or stop by one of the many shacks lining the beach.

Reading
St. Lucian Nobel laureate Derek Walcott's epic poem Omeros brings alive the stories of St. Lucians through the motifs of Greek myth (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $16). Dominican native Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea and other novels convey the lushness of her childhood home (Norton, $14). Local historian and anthropologist Lennox Honychurch's Dominica: Isle of Adventure is excellent, as are his other works (Hunter Publishing, $17). Lonely Planet's Eastern Caribbean is a very good overview of all the islands ($20).