Mastic Trail Tour

The Mastic Reserve on Grand Cayman protects part of the largest contiguous area of untouched, old growth dry forest remaining on the island. This area is of international significance represents one of the last remaining examples of the Caribbean's subtropical, semi deciduous dry forest, which have been the target of particularly intense deforestation throughout the West Indies.

The area is home to a wide variety of animals and plants unique to the Cayman Islands, and also to large populations of trees which have vanished from more accessible places through logging in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

One of the principal aims of the National Trust is to try to safeguard the survival of the diversity of native wild plants and animals on these islands. This is most effectively achieved by protecting intact natural areas. The Trust's Land Reserves Programme was set up to acquire high priority environmental areas for protection under the National Trust Law, 1987. Through a combination of donations and purchases, 843 acres of the total target area of 1,300 acres is currently under the care and management of the Trust, forming the Mastic Reserve.