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The path winds through a patch of native Cayman woodland, featuring native trees such as the mahogany and Cayman’s national tree, the Silver Thatch palm. Three species of native wild orchid grow along the trail: the Wild Banana orchid, Cayman’s national flower; the rare and delicate Ghost orchid, and the Monk orchid, Cayman’s only ground-living orchid. Also along the Nature Trail is the Red Birch tree, sometimes called the “tourist tree” by locals because its bark looks like the skin of tourists when they have been out in the Cayman sun for too long! There are also fruit trees such as almond, mango, and sea grape trees, with large round leaves and producing a sweet, slightly salty berry that can be used to make jam and drinks.
Several species of wildlife are found on the nature trail, including the zebra butterfly, white-crowned pigeons, the Yucatan vireo, and bananaquit birds. Also lookout for the beautiful Cayman blue anole lizard and the agouti, a shy, medium-sized rodent that local people call “Cayman rabbit” due to its passing resemblance.
At certain times of the year, Great Southern White butterflies swarm on the Trail, almost resembling snow flurries, in mating rituals to lay hundreds of eggs. This can happen up to three times during the six-month rainy season. The butterflies lay eggs on native plants that bloom and grow profusely with the rains.
