Direction hiking Camp Balata, located in the town of Fort-de-France. The city of Fort-de-France has a large indoor market where you will find fruits, vegetables, honey, souvenirs and other specialties. It also has a ferry terminal that can offer trips to Dominica and Saint Lucia. In terms of architecture, the city of Fort-de-France has some monuments such as the library Schœlcher, Fort Saint-Louis (visit during the Heritage Day) or the Savannah Park and its famous statues.
Sur ce camp, vous aurez à disposition des terrains sportifs (football et pétanque) ainsi qu’un centre de tir.
On this camp, you will find sports fields (such football and petanque) and a shooting center.
Itinerary
Join the A1 motorway from Fort-de-France and take the exit Balata (N3). Go straight on towards the gardens of Balata, the road goes up and you will pass next to the magnificent Sacred Heart of Balata. After a few minutes and many laces, you will see on your left a yellow sign and a large gate.
This is the entrance to the shooting center, enter the courtyard and park there. You have reached the camp.
You can park easily.
Camp Balata
There, you will be able to observe that there are different buildings (shooting center) but also a big abandoned building further on the right of the way.
You have two choices: you can now start hiking on the right of the building (starting point of the hike) or if you prefer you can do only the health trail in the middle of signs lit by quotes from historical figures such as the famous poet and writer Aimé Césaire who was deputy and also mayor of Fort-de-France.
My first choice was to do the health course to discover during of my walk, the various quotes and green landscapes in the middle of these abandoned buildings that participate in the charm of this course health. The trail is two kilometers long and will take you about thirty minutes to do it.
All along the way you will see landscapes such as the one below.
A litte of history ….
The military camp of Balata was articulated around several companies (schools, command, instruction). The Military Service of the West Indies-Guiana was established there in 1964. The Joint Regiment was disbanded on June 30, 1964 and its groupings became battalions of the Military Service. In 1964, the first group of ADM Martinique became the first battalion of the ADM. In 1967, the Military-adapted Military Staff of the Antilles-Guyana settled in Camp La Favorite, the former castle of the Habitation La Favorite. Today, most buildings are abandoned and vegetation has taken place.
After turning on your left after the tree lane and past the two abandoned buildings, the way joins the hiking trail. To point you there, you will see that there are decathlon blue banners in the trees.
The end of the fitness course will be in the summary below of the Balata Camp hike.
The trail is 2.2 kilometers long. You will be radically into a hydrophilic Caribbean forest. You will have some positive elevation especially at the end of the course. The path is poorly maintained and I advise you to wear high socks to avoid stinging plants. The whole course can be done in 1 h – 1h30.
Back to the car park and take the path on the right before the big abandoned building.
You will plunge into the forest and immerse yourself in this dense and lush vegetation. Here are some pictures of the beginning of the trail. Orange dots on trees or bamboos and decathlon banners will show you the way forward.
Precaution: After a few minutes of walking, you will observe on your left, a tree with long roots. You have to take these roots to continue the hike.
If you turn on your right, the path will take you to the Didier Fountain. The yard goes down to the Dumauzé River where the Didier Fountain takes its water.
If you plan to go down, the ascent to join the original hike will be quite physical with the heat. You will need about fifteen minutes to go down and about twenty minutes to go up.
Take the original path that will continue to plunge you into the forest, watch the “Balisiers” that often attract beautiful hummingbirds
After 25 minutes of walking and a positive elevation gain, take the last steps in the forest that ends on a plateau. You are at the crossroads with the health trail that you must follow to return to the car park.
Here you are a few minutes from the car park. Take the opportunity to learn shooting or play a game of petanque.
| 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 Facilites : good pair of hiking shoes or tennis shoes (high socks, sport outfit, bag with (knife, rain coat, lamp, hats or caps, sun glasses, sun cream and mosquito repelent). Ø Sanitary conditions: – Difficulty : 4 /10 the hike is not very difficult, the last part is a little harder but can be done by the all family even with a baby carrier. The heath hike can be done by anyone and even handicapped person. – Normally, always start hiking early 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. – Take your time and go as you wish, plan the time that you will need depending on your physical condition. – Important tip : always have a botlle of water per person and a snack in your bag. Others : In the area you can also visit : Les Jardins de Balata, visit the Sacré Cœur de Balata or do the hikes of the Absalon (Fontaine Didier, …).
|
Do not hesitate to post you commentaries or to ask for information on contact@domloisirsetculture.fr.
Subscribe on our page on Facebook, where you will discover a new article or video every week.
Dom Loisirs et Culture at your service.
OLIVIER Damien, your humble guide
3 Comments
claudia · Saturday August 10th, 2019 at 06:47 AM
Le bus 25 y rend – c’est bien ça?
OLIVIER Damien · Saturday August 10th, 2019 at 05:45 PM
Bonjour, malheureusement je ne connais pas bien les lignes de bus passant à proximité.
Circuit d’Absalon – Fontaine Didier, une randonnée jusqu’à la source. – Dom Loisirs et Culture · Saturday October 14th, 2017 at 06:34 AM
[…] Empruntez le chemin qui vous mènera devant le portail de l’usine de Fontaine Didier. Pour information, ce chemin peut vous permettre de rejoindre le Camp de Balata en empruntant un passage puis un sentier pentu jusqu’au Camp. Plus d’informations sur le Camp Balata dans l’article de notre site . […]