St Lucia, one of the Winward Islands has been a stable independent democracy within the British Commonwealth since 1979. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its capital is Castries in the North East.
Apart from the beaches and the mountainous island itself, other tourist attractions include Sulphur Springs (a drive-in volcano), the Botanical Gardens, the Rain Forests and Pigeon Island National Park, which is home to Fort Rodney, an old British military base.