History and Culture

Trip schedule

DAY 1 – ARRIVAL IN CAYENNE

Arrival at Cayenne airport.
You will be welcomed by a team member from Guyane Evasion, who will display a welcome sign… he will review the detail of your program, will hand you your welcome package and will assist you picking your rental car up, or arrange private transportation to your hotel.
Complimentary dinner and overnight accommodation at your hotel in Cayenne 2 ** is included.

DAY 2 – CAMP CARIACOU

Breakfast at your hotel and then transportation to Kourou (01h15 drive).
9.30am – Gathering at the “Camp des Maripas” PK18 pier “Dégrad Saramaca” to board a pirogue (dugout canoe) and motor up the Kourou River (boat trip lasting one hour). Arrival at Camp Cariacou (camp tour, hammock-slinging techniques…etc.).
Afternoon activities will include trekking, canoe paddling and swimming.
All meals are prepared and served by your guide.
A night time pirogue trip will take you on the river to discover the nocturnal wildlife.
Then off to a restful night (hammocks and mosquito nets supplied).

DAY 3 – CAMP CARIACOU

Campsite breakfast.
Morning canoe trip down to the creek.
Campsite lunch.
Forest trek in the afternoon (lasting about two hours). Then workshop activities organized by your guide (basket weaving and traditional braiding). Your return river trip then takes you back to PK18.
Arrival at 5.30pm.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on Kourou – 3 ***

DAY 4 – ST LAURENT DU MARONI AND “CAMP DE LA TRANSPORTATION”

Breakfast at your hotel and then transportation to St Laurent du Maroni.
Complimentary lunch.
Your afternoon schedule includes a tour of the “Camp de la transportation” (Transportation Camp). This site forms part of what remains from the extensive former penal colony of St Laurent du Maroni. Daily guided tours take visitors through the tragic experience of convicts, following in the footsteps of men like Papillon (made famous by the 1973 Hollywood film adaptation of his life-story).
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on St Laurent du Maroni – 3 ***.

DAY 5 – ST LAURENT DU MARONI & RIVERSIDE VILLAGES

Breakfast at your hotel is included.
9am – Your departure meeting point is the pier at St Jean du Maroni (a 15 minutes’ drive from St Laurent) where you will board a motorized pirogue and cast off to explore the Maroni River.
This river tour will take you to the “Ile Portal” river island, the native Indian village of Biguiston and its polishing stones and finally to the Wacapou creek. Extra stops may include a number of other Maroon and native Indian villages where you can discover crafts and local workshops (pirogue building, “couac” flour preparation from cassava roots; peanut shelling and sorting, etc.).
11.00am – Exploration of the former “Forestière” penal colony (depending on the season, this will include a visit of the ruins and/or discovery of the local wildlife).
12.00am – Arrival at Apatou. Tour of the village—the capital of Tembe art.
01.00pm – Thrill as your pirogue navigates the Saut Hermine rapids—right before your lunch stop and leisure time for swimming.
03.30pm – Return to St Jean du Maroni.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on St Laurent du Maroni.

DAY 6 – ST LAURENT DU MARONI – AWALA YALIMPO AMERINDIAN VILLAGE – KOUROU

Breakfast at your hotel and then transportation to Kourou (3h drive).
A stop en route will allow you to visit the Amerindian village of Awala Yalimpo, famous for its Awala beach where the leatherback sea turtles (aka lute turtles) come to lay their eggs in the sand. You can actually witness this strangely moving process if visiting at the right time of year…
Complimentary lunch then back on the road..
Another stop in the afternoon will be devoted to Iracoubo, a village with the oldest church to have been hand-decorated and painted by convicts.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on Kourou – 3 ***

DAY 7 – FRENCH GUIANA SPACE CENTER

Breakfast at your hotel.
Transportation to the space center.
8am – Meeting in front of the Kourou Space Museum for registration and perimeter access (ID required for the whole visit).
A bus tour will start at 8:30AM to take you successively to the Soyuz launch pad, Vega launch pad and Ariane 5 launch pad and control center (3h).
Located only a few miles outside Kourou, the French Guiana Space Center (Centre Spatial Guyanais or CSG) employs more than 1,500 people within a vast security perimeter covering 75,000 ha.
Selected in 1964 among 13 other possible locations, the CSG is home to Europe’s gateway to space activities—its “Space Port”. Fully integrated into the natural landscape of Guiana, it is now a major item for any discovery of our region.
Accompanied by specialist guides, your tour will take you into the world of high technology as you visit the control center for an overall presentation, followed by a close look at launch pads and other installations (depending on operational and/or security constraints).
You may then visit the Kourou Space Museum as well.
Complimentary lunch.
Free afternoon.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on Kourou – 3 ***.

DAY 8 – THE “ILES DU SALUT” (DEVIL’S ISLANDS)

Breakfast at your hotel.
Transfer to the Kourou pier.
8.00am – Gathering at the Kourou harbor to board a catamaran.
Located at 10 miles (8 nautical miles) off the coast of Kourou, the Royale Island, St-Joseph island and Ile du Diable (Devil Island) form an archipelago that once was one of the most infamous penal colonies in the world. Numerous penitentiary buildings are still to be seen on the Ile Royale, offering striking landmarks of a prison system that lasted until 1946; you will visit the late 19th-c. convicts’ hospital, the “death-row” quarters, the church and its presbytery, the madhouse, the lighthouse, etc. Some of the buildings – incl. houses formerly used by guards – have been restored to their original aspect and now accommodate visitors. The former guards’ mess is actually a restaurant where you can have lunch while scanning a fine distant view of Devil Island.
Between 9:30 and 10am – Landing on the Royale island. Free tour or guided tour starting at 10:30am in front of the Auberge des Iles. This tour will take you to the church, the hospital, the children’s cemetery, the guards’ quarters and the museum—two hours of history and gripping tales of human survival.
Wildlife is free to roam on the island and you will encounter numerous Agouti rodents, monkeys, macaws and iguanas along the many footpaths allowing for strolls; swimming is possible at the so-called “piscine des bagnards” (convicts’ swimming pool).
Lunch will be served at the Auberge des Iles (drinks not included).
If you took the “Catamaran option”, further sailing will transfer you to the Ile St-Joseph in the afternoon—where you can visit more convicts’ cells—or enjoy the beach covered with seashells.
5pm – Arrival back at Kourou.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel in Kourou – 3 ***.

DAY 9 – CACAO & ITS HMONG INHABITANTS

Breakfast at your hotel and then transportation to Cacao (01h30 drive). The Hmong people are an ethnic group from South-East Asia often treated as pariahs in their native Laos and Vietnam. Upstream from Saut Bief along the Comté River, Cacao is the place where the Hmong community came to settle in Guiana in 1977. Initially rejected by some, their presence has gradually been accepted and their successful agricultural efforts have secured their integration into the local economy. Now one of the many ethnic groups in the very diverse makeup of Guiana, their tawny faces will welcome you to their extensive flower fields covered with so-called “porcelain roses”, birds of paradise and canna indica—all blending their perfumes in an atmosphere that still preserves memories of their long-lost Laotian uplands; their town market on Sundays is a real festival of colors and scents—for you to visit.
Complimentary lunch.
In the afternoon, return on Cayenne.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel on Cayenne.

DAY 10 – KAW SWAMPS

Breakfast at your hotel.
07:00AM : Transfer to Kaw by private car or with your rental car (2h drive).
9am – Gathering at the Kaw pier to board a motorized pirogue. Several stops will allow for swamp’s wildlife observations, a tour of the fishermen’s village and a visit to the “Maison de la réserve” (reserve information center) before the floating eco-lodge is reached, often surrounded by numerous birds such as cocoi herons, great egrets and jacanas.
This floating lodge will be your base camp throughout the day for swimming, fishing and paddling on canoes. Lunch will be served at 12:30am (drinks included).
In the afternoon, continuation of the hike in the swamps.
Activities will be proposed such as fishing, kayaking ….
A candle-lit dinner will be served before you start on your nocturnal quest for caimans and other species revealed by flashlights. You may even encounter the capybara (the largest rodent on earth)—as well the three species of caimans: black caiman, spectacled caimans and smaller red caiman (aka Cuvier’s dwarf caimans). This night time experience is unforgettable.
Overnight sleep in your bed or hammock in a communal room.

DAY 11 – KAW SWAMPS – ZOO DE GUYANE

After a restful night on the floating lodge, breakfast will be served at dawn to allow for more bird watching.
9am – Arrival back at the Kaw pier.
Complimentary lunch.
Nature wild and powerful—more than 450 animal species are represented at the “Zoo de Guyane” where you can discover them along a tour lasting up to two and a half hours; this tour includes a number of special activities and facilities: educational tracks with audio guides (available in French, and English)
Drive back to Cayenne.
Complimentary dinner and night in a hotel in Cayenne.

DAY 12 – DEPARTURE

Breakfast at your hotel is included.
You will have enough time in the morning to make your last purchases and visit Cayenne’s market (On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only).
Complimentary lunch In the afternoon, transfer to Cayenne airport (30 min drive).