Welcome to the town of Anses d’Arlet, located in the southwest of the island. This seaside community is known for its seasonal villas, diving schools and seaside restaurants. Like the other four beaches of the town, the beach of great cove presents a rich seabed. Mask, Palm and Tuba are mandatory to discover it! In addition to these beautiful beaches, the territory also has walking routes you can enjoy the views of the beaches and the Caribbean Sea from different hills. These courses generally allow to join the beaches between them in order to link sports activity and relaxation in family. The hike Anse Dufour – Grande Anse d’Arlet is a hiking trail that makes you climb a dull in the middle of the dry forest and discover temporary pools.
Itinerary
To access the starting point of the hike, go south of the island (A1, N5 then D7A) and take the exit Trois Ilets (D7), cross the town of Trois Ilets, then go towards Anse a l’Ane, go past this beach and continue straight leading you to climb a hill with many bends. You will pass the sign Gallochat then Ravine of Anse Noire, then after a few sharp turns, you will see a bus shelter and a sign telling you to turn right to the two handles, Anse Dufour and Anse Noire. Continue straight until you reach the beach of Anse Dufour. This will be the first you will meet with a first car park. Access to Anse Noire is via the climb where you will find a second car park
You can also access the starting point through the Diamant by taking the D7 which will take you through a roundabout with a conch sculpture. Take the first right, you will reach the beach of Grande Anse d’Arlet (Attention on weekends, there is a sense forbidden to walk along the beach). Pass the cove and climb the hill to get to the same intersection and turn left.
First tip: in high season, l’Anse Dufour Cove is a popular beach vacationers and it turns out that it becomes quite crowded over the morning. Leave early to arrive before 9 o’clock so you do not have too much trouble to park nearby.
The car parks are not very big and you may have to park, turning around, on the road leading to the beaches.
Anse Dufour – Grande Anse d’Arlet
The hike is a land trail accessible to the whole family and children over 10 years (depending on physical condition). The sporty course during the ascent is about 8 to 9 kilometers and lasts 2h30 to 3h. The trail will introduce you to temporary pools and the dry forest of Morne Réduit.
Think about whether you are several to put a car at each starting point of the hike to facilitate your return if you do not want to walk the other way.
The starting point of the hike is at the bottom of the stairs. You will see an information sign indicating the direction to take for the trail.
Walk along the houses and then dive into the dry forest.
Here you are at the foot of the hill and you go for an ascent of about 45 minutes to 1 hour of Morne Réduit. The further you go, the less the hike is shaded.
Watch out for the harmful effects of the sun.
Arriving at the top of the hill, the vegetation prevents you from having a view of the bay of Fort-de-France. Some suspicions of this panoramic view can be seen through the vegetation.
Continue your journey and a few minutes later you will discover a beautiful temporary pond.
What you should know…..
These pools, often modeled by humans, offer an ecosystem over more or less long periods of time, but sufficient for them to be inhabited by important biodiversity (invertebrates, dragonflies, amphibians, vegetation).
All this fauna and flora is adapted to the intermittency of the water because these ponds are subjected to submersions of variable length and height and allowed to have a precious water in time of“ Carême”
Lets’ continue the hike, the trail goes down and takes you into the dry forest. Here you are again in the shade of vegetation and you go down gradually to the Grande Anse d’Arlet.
On your way, you will see the possibility of practicing a climbing activity on blocks.
Continue your way, you will arrive at a fork if you take on your left, you will turn to the beach of Grande Anse.
The right path takes you to Cape Solomon and the ruins of the old military battery.
Stay on the left path. An information panel will be there to direct you to Grande Anse.
Follow the concrete road along the beach. Take one of the accesses on your right to enjoy the beach of Grande Anse and its seabed.
the beach of Grand Anse
Click on this link to have a first video preview of this beach on our Facebook page.
End of the hike, the return will be by the same path or you can consider putting a vehicle on each side of the hike in order to avoid the return.
it is up to you now !
| TIPS
Ø Circulation in Martinique: During the weeks you will encounter many traffic jams from 7 a.m. to 9. 30 a.m. in the industrial and commercial areas. Especially mornings driving from south (Rivière Salée, N5) to the North (Fort-de-France, A1), but also East (Robert , N1) going North , you will find the same traffic jams every evening on the other side from 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Tip, think of the way and time you want to travel in order not to lose time. Ø Equipment: Good pair of sneakers that grips or hiking shoes, hiking stick, sportswear, hiking bag (knife, flashlight, headlamp, k-way, cap, sunglasses, sunscreen). Ø Santé : – Difficulty: 6 out of 10, sportly walk during the ascent of the hill on the outward and return journey, possible with a baby carrier or with children over 10 years (depending on physical condition). Shaded path but beware of the harmful effects of the sun at the top of the hill. -Take your time and go as you wish, plan the time taht you will need depending on your physical condition. -Important tip: always have a bottle of water per person and a snack in your bag. -Normally, always start hiking at the earliest in the morning. The daytime heat during minimal sports activity can become quite stifling. This hike is largely in the shade in the forest except on the course health.
Others: you can hike Cape Solomon or go swimming near the beaches of Grande Anse, Petite Anse, Anse Dufour and Anse Noire. Do not forget your fins, masks and snorkel. |
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OLIVIER Damien, your humble guide
3 Comments
Anse Dufour, tortue verte et snorkeling – Dom Loisirs et Culture · Saturday January 26th, 2019 at 10:23 AM
[…] Divers : vous pouvez aller voir à proximité, L’Anse Noire et la grotte des chauves souris ou faire la randonnée pédestre Anse Dufour-Grande Anse. […]
L’Anse Noire et la Grotte des Chauves-Souris – Dom Loisirs et Culture · Saturday January 26th, 2019 at 10:32 AM
[…] Divers : vous pouvez aller voir à proximité, L’Anse Dufour ou faire la randonnée pédestre Gallochat-Anse Noire ou Anse Dufour -Grande Anse. […]
Gallochat – Anse noire – Dom Loisirs et Culture · Friday August 23rd, 2019 at 03:37 PM
[…] vous pouvez effectuer la randonnée après Anse Noire de Anse Dufour vers Grande Anse ou encore Cap Salomon ou aller vous baigner à proximité aux plages de Grande Anse , Petite […]