Sint Maarten ecopark

The nature-park company Rainforest Adventures opened an ecopark, Rockland Estate (phone 721/543-1135, www.rainforestadventure.com/pages/stmaarten), in the Dutch Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten. It encompasses over 436,000 square meters of natural habitat, with only 3.6% built upon.

At a cost of $90 each, visitors take the Sky Explorer 4-passenger chairlift to the highest point in Sint Maarten, Sentry Hill, for a 360-degree view and to visit the Emilio Wilson Museum, a restored plantation house that exhibits the history of the island along with that of the Wilson family, former slaves. 

From there, they can return to the base of the hill via The Flying Dutchman, the world’s steepest zip-line, descending 1,050 feet over a distance of 2,800 feet.

The park is open daily, 11 a.m. (9 a.m. on cruise days) to 5 p.m. Entry can be booked in advance online.