North of Grande Terre loop
Port-Louis

North of Grande Terre loop

Coastline and cliff
Geology
North Grande-Terre circular trail
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Discover the richness of North Grande Terre throughout the hiking trails of the loop!

An exceptional natural environment, a rich history, a little known heritage : a network of emblematic sites, over 3 different stages.

45 points of interest

  • History

    Beauport factory

    The Beauport factory, established in 1863 on the site of the Beauport sugar-works, over 70 years managed more than 8000 hectares in northern Grande-Terre, and fed a dynamic network of railway lines.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Chapelle de la Piéta

    200m north of the road, the Chapelle de la Piéta, can be found inside the mill of the Beauport residence.
  • History

    Dispensary

    An ancient dispensary, built by Ali Tur after the cyclone in 1928.
  • History

    Port-Louis Mairie

    The Port-Louis Mairie (Town Hall), originally built on the coastline and destroyed in 1928, was rebuilt by Corbin during the 1930s.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    'Yang-Ting' mansion

    The historic Yang-Ting mansion, restored by the Port-Louis Tourism Office.
  • History

    Palais de Justice

    The former Palais de Justice, built by Ali Tur in the early 1930s, on the site of the old Mairie (town hall).
  • History

    Main Boulevard

    Boulevard de Port-Louis, historical axis of the town since the eighteenth century.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Eglise de Port-Louis

    The Church and its square, originally built in 1725, destroyed three times in the nineteenth century,but always rebuilt in the same place.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Lighthouse of Port-Louis

    The lighthouse, symbol of Port-Louis harbour.
  • Area of relaxation

    Plage du Souffleur

    The Plage du Souffleur, a historical area in Port-Louis and famous seaside centre in Guadeloupe.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Cimetière de Port-Louis

    The Port-Louis cemetery with its variety of graves. The car-park at Port-Louis cemetery, heading northwards along the beach, joins on to that of the Conservatoire du Littoral 'Tras Kas Moustach'.
  • Pond

    'Chimen Kas Moustach'

    Route of the Conservatoire du Littoral Tras Kas Moustach, to explore the Port-Louis marshes, joins the main axis at the Pointe des Mangles.
    Beware : access not recommended to the boardwalk (currently damaged).
  • Viewpoint

    Pointe des Mangles

    The Pointe des Mangles, where the sea and the waters of the marsh come together.
    A fishing spot, but also a spiritual 'démaré' (rebirth) bathing area, not far from the ornithological hide.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Chapelle

    The chapel of Notre Dame des Marais, or 'Chapèl Kilibwa', is one of a network of coastal chapels of the Côte sous le Vent in north Grande-Terre.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Batterie Pointe d'Antigue

    The buried remains of the old battery of Pointe d'Antigue, the advanced defence post of Port-Louis harbour.
  • Viewpoint

    Pointe d’Antigue

    Pointe d’Antigue or 'Gros Kay', a strategic rocky peak and unique viewpoint embracing the whole 'Gran V', the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Saint-Pierre

    Secondary circuit around the Saint-Pierre residence, a large coastal housing area to the north of the marshes.
  • Area of relaxation

    Anse Colas

    Anse Colas, a lagoon set in a rocky inlet is an area for meeting up and relaxing, at the border of the Anse-Bertrand and Port-Louis areas.
  • Pond

    La Mare Indigo

    La Mare Indigo, a stone's throw from the coast, is a witness to the human resonance between savanna, undergrowth and gardens.
    (Mare Indigo can be seen 150m to the east of the main path)
  • Area of relaxation

    Plage de La Chapelle

    The Plage de la Chapelle, lively and welcoming, was the historical start of the Anse in the eighteenth century (traces of the original religious foundation remain).
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Cimetières d’Anse-Bertrand

    The two cemeteries in Anse-Bertrand are temporal markers of the coastal development of its past.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Eglise d'Anse-Bertrand

    The Church and its square, the heart of the town opening out to the 'cove at Bertrand'.
  • History

    Débarcadère d'Anse-Bertrand

    The old water-tanks, or ways of storing water, and the former landing stage are relics of the maritime relations between the town, Port-Louis and Pointe-à-Pitre, still in use at the beginning of the twentieth century.
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    Ancienne prison

    The former prison, built on the eve of the abolition of slavery in the middle of the nineteenth century, is located on the Boulevard, in the historic fishermen's district.
  • Pond

    Ravine Sable

    Ravine Sable, anchor point of the cove's maritime culture, benefits from both its valuable wetlands and the rich birdlife, at the foot of the cliffs.
    NB: ornithological observatory on the area (opened on October 2017 by the Anse-Bertrand Community and the National Park)
  • Area of relaxation

    Anse Laborde

    Anse Laborde, a renowned seaside cove, starting point of the northern cliffs.
    It is bordered by the Pointe de la Petite Vigie, advanced sentinel of the urban stretch of water.
  • Geology

    Trou de Man Louis

    The only accessible beach with Anse Laborde on this side, barely visible from the cliffs (on the leeward side); the place for cliff fishing, including for 'bougo' (shellfish).
  • Cultural and architectural heritage

    'Yaya'

    Yaya is a mystical space to the north of the village, where you may encounter spirits and other beings (mentioned in the story of Man Koko).
  • History

    Caribbean site

    The site of the village of the last Caribbeans in Guadeloupe, until the beginning of the twentieth century, in the heart of what was then known as the Caribbean Reserve.
  • Viewpoint

    Pointe Montagnier

    A rare viewpoint of this part of the cliffs, open to the Caribbean Sea and the Canal de la Guadeloupe.
  • Viewpoint

    Pointe de la Grande Vigie

    Pointe de la Grande Vigie, with its parking area and its double pathway to explore the site, going towards the point.
  • Geology

    Petite Tortue

    Pointe de la Petite Tortue, a cliff overhang shaped like the head of a turtle.
  • Pond

    Savane Desrosières

    Savane Desrosières : vast space of the Caribbean Reserve, with its pools and grazing land, open to the never-ending movement of the Atlantic waves.
  • Agricultural landscape

    Couloir de Budan - St Jacques

    The end of the Anse-Bertrand plateau, where we see a row of the more northerly sugar works of eighteenth century Guadeloupe, including those of Budan and St Jacques.
  • Geology

    Anse Pistolet

    The Pointe de la Grande Vigie's only maritime access and the natural entrance to the south-west plain from the eighteenth century onwards, L'Anse Pistolet nestles between the cliffs occupied by the Amerindians millennia ago.
    (The Anse is visible 400m to the north of the main road).
  • Viewpoint

    Anse à Tortues

    A spectacular viewpoint nearer the edge of the cliffs, at the feet of which lies a cove of white sand, home to turtles when they come to lay their eggs.
  • Geology

    Pointe du Piton

    Pointe du Piton: witness to the tectonic movements at the start of the Grande-Terre region, and coastal erosion.
  • Geology

    Overlooking the Porte d'Enfer

    At the start of Cadou: go west from the ridge, overlooking the lagoon of Porte d'Enfer, an open book of the geological history of Guadeloupe.
  • Area of relaxation

    Porte d'Enfer

    The Porte d'Enfer lagoon, with its protected stretch of water, its landscaped picnic area, is the only single opening to the sea accessible, albeit difficult, on this coast.
  • Geology

    Trou a Man Koko

    Madame Coco's blowhole is a mythical place linked to the legend of Madame Coco's pact with Lucifer.
  • Geology

    Trou du Souffleur

    The Pointe de la Tortue and the Trou du Souffleur, spectacular sea-water blowholes in the coastal rock.
    Be careful, do not go near the edge !
  • Geology

    Pointe du Souffleur

    Pointe du Souffleur.
  • Geology

    Pointe "Tête à Boeuf"

    Pointe "Tête à Boeuf" is a shore fishing place well known to the cliff fishermen ; it also serves as a seamark to fishermen out to sea off the coast.
  • Geology

    Anse à la Barque

    L’Anse à la Barque: place-names and history. A network of trails, ponds and gullies.
  • The Slave Route

    Route de l'Esclave : La Mahaudière.

    The oldest sources of information about this dwelling date back to 1732. At that time, it was not a sugar farm: around 1770, Etienne Douillard Mahaudière's property was more of a huge cotton estate, with a large number of 'cases' for the slaves but very few industrial buildings. At that time, there were many cotton estates in this part of Grande-Terre. The property grew progressively and turned to the production of sugar, until the Revolution, when it was sequestered. Two hundred people then worked on the 'Lahaut' residence, as it was known at the time. In 1828, 147 slaves were employed to maintain the 465 hectares of the property.
    The owner was then Jean-Baptiste Douillard Mahaudière whose, name remains connected to a famous judicial matter.
    In October 1840, he was taken to court for the abusive sequestration of his slave Lucile, a seamstress.
    She was accused by her master of having poisoned his wife. Lucile was thrown into a cell measuring 5 square metres; it was only 1.20m high, so she could not stand upright. She was kept there for nearly two years in almost complete solitary confinement. Denounced to the law in an anonymous letter, Douillard Mahaudière had to answer for this crime before the Pointe-à-Pitre Assizes. The King's Prosecutor, himself a settler and owner in Guadeloupe, found himself torn between his role as magistrate and the interests of the community to which he belonged. Under pressure from the settlers, Douillard Mahaudière was declared not guilty and acquitted. The slave Lucile was sold.
    In the years following the abolition of slavery, the house slowly fell into disrepair. At the end of the nineteenth century, the conversion of its facilities made it into a large steam-powered distillery. The activity continued on the site until the beginning of the 1950s.

Description

Hiking trail colour: yellow.

  • First Stage :

From Port-Louis (Beauport) to Anse-Bertrand (Anse Laborde), passing through the coastline running alongside the bay of Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin.

  • Second Stage :

In Anse-Bertrand : from Anse Laborde to La Porte d’Enfer, via La Grande Vigie, northern tip of the Guadeloupe Islands.

  • Third Stage :

In Anse Bertrand : from La Porte d’Enfer to La Mahaudiere, following the trail of the cliffs.


Enjoy the hike !

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For more information about the North Grande-Terre loop, check the following webpage : http://www.randoguadeloupe.gp/informations/partenariats/

  • Departure : Port-Louis, "Beauport".
  • Arrival : Anse-Bertrand, "Mahaudiere".
  • Towns crossed : Port-Louis, Anse-Bertrand, and Petit-Canal

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Please respect the signs and the environment !
Please follow specific recommendations for each stage.

Information desks

2 rue Gambetta, 97117 Port-Louis

http://www.lenordguadeloupe.comcontact@lenordguadeloupe.com0590 22 33 87 / 0690 50 76 48

Access and parking

RN6 road, between Port-Louis and Petit Canal : head  towards the “lycee“ and the “usine” of  Beauport.  Follow  the signs “Beauport, pays de la canne”, departure of the North Grande Terre loop.

Parking :

Departure parking : Port-Louis (Beauport). Arrival Parking : Anse-Bertrand (Mahaudière).

More information

Source

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