The Carbet Falls, magnificent and vertiginous.

Welcome to the Commune of Capesterre-Belle-Eau, located in the south-east of Basse-Terre. It is located on land and sea with in the north of the territory these majestic hills and ridges and in the south a common mouth of three main rivers which flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The municipality of Capesterre-Belle-Eau, made up of many localities (Bananier, Fonds-Cacao, La Plaine, Sainte-Marie, …..), is a land of cultivation of bananas, coffee and traditional kassaverie. A fishing port is located near the beach and the Bana tree river.

In terms of services, you will find in the village of the town a post office, bank, service stations and a market. Take the opportunity to admire the Dumanoir alley, lined with royal palm trees.

In terms of activities on the municipal territory, there is the Espérance distillery which produces Longueteau and Karukera rums. Many hiking departures are also possible, including the unmissable Carbet waterfalls (the highest in the archipelago), located in the Guadeloupe national park, and a walk in the spice and scent gardens of Cantamerle. In addition, on the sea side, you can enjoy the Anses Bernard, Roseau or Bananier beaches. Finally, on the cultural history side, in Sainte-Marie is where Christopher Columbus landed in 1493 where there is a bust of the navigator (1916).

From the departure of the Guadeloupe National Park, you will have many hiking trails including those allowing access to the Carbet Falls.

There are three falls:

The first fall is a 125 meter cascade;

The second fall is a 110 meter cascade;

The third fall is a 20 meter waterfall (I didn’t have time to do the third one but an article will be done soon).

Itinerary

To access the starting point of the national park, starting from Pointe-à-Pitre, take the N1, in the direction of Basse-Terre. You will pass the towns of Petit Bourg, Goyave before arriving in the town of Capesterre-Belle-Eau. Continue on the N1 and pass the village of the town towards the place called Bananier. You will see on your right, after 5 minutes of road, the direction towards the starting point of the national park of Guadeloupe. Take this road (D4), and follow it to the park car park.

Here you are in front of the Guadeloupe National Park building. Make a U-turn at the roundabout to park on the side of the road. Many places are available and you will have no difficulty in parking. Remember, however, that this is a very popular site.

Guadeloupe National Park building

Access to the start of the hike is 50 meters after this building but you will have to pay for access. Here is the link for the prices which change every year. You have the possibility of taking a card for one year for 6 euros which is interesting. This money is used for the maintenance of the park, for the management of the free car park.

Enjoy, before setting off on the hiking trail, the magnificent view of the reception building.

Go back on your way and located a little further on your right, you will be entitled to another point of view on the first and second falls of the Carbet.

The Carbet Falls hike is accessible to the whole family (children over 8 years old and depending on their physical condition). For people with reduced mobility, only the reception site and the first panorama are accessible). You will take advantage of the shade and the ambient humidity of the hygrophilous forest to walk the 6 kilometers to the first and second falls (round trip) with a walking time of 2:30 to 3:00. The difference in height is positive (+520 m for the first), you will have two or three fairly sporty passages to cross.

Let’s now explore the trails to the first and second falls. The trails are well laid out, however, be careful of the risk of slipping on the stairs and in the forest.

The starting point of the first and second fall of the carbet is the same. You will have a path laid out with stairs, barriers. The path descends to a bridge.

Cross the bridge that suffered damage from Hurricane Maria. Follow the trail to an intersection

Second Carbet Falls (110 m and 30 min A-R):

Turn left following the directions on the sign to access the first fall (10 minutes round trip).

For the record, following the earthquake of 2004, rocks were detached from the walls of the falls, making access to this fall prohibited for safety reasons. As a result, there is only a small point of view revealing the fall in the distance.

First Carbet Falls (125 m and 2h00 to 2h30 min A-R):

Retrace your steps and head to your left to take the path in the hygrophilous forest.

The path is also laid out to lead you to the second waterfall. The vegetation is dense and you will enjoy walking in this lush forest.

However, this course is more difficult with sporty climbs between the roots of the trees.

After a last fairly long climb, the path becomes flatter and you will walk on screened decks to avoid slipping.

This path takes you to the Rivière du Grand Carbet which you have to cross. Watch out for slippery rocks, favor the passage directly in the river.

Then walk about ten minutes to see the first Carbet waterfall in the distance.

The trail narrows and becomes more muddy and slippery. You will have to climb some rocks using your hands in places.

But after a few last efforts, you are rewarded! The first fall of the Carbet and its dizzying height.

Click on this link to have a first video preview of the waterfall on our Facebook page.

Also turn around to enjoy the view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Also enjoy our video summary of the hike on our Youtube channel.

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Dom Loisirs et Culture at your service.

OLIVIER Damien, your humble guide

The Dom Loisirs and Culture team is committed to raising awareness of the protection of the biodiversity of the overseas departments.