Jacmel
Haiti · Sud-Est · 10 m
Description
Jacmel is the handsomest town in Haiti, a coffee port whose merchants built brick and cast-iron houses with deep balconies in the nineteenth century, most of the ironwork shipped in from France. It is the craft capital of the country, and workshops along the streets turn newspaper and paste into painted papier-mâché masks that the Carnival wears. Bassin Bleu lies an hour inland, three pools of cold blue water stacked under a waterfall and reached by a scramble with a rope. Beaches run east to Kabic and Ti Mouillage. Jacmel is said to have been the first town in the Caribbean with electric street lighting.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: December – April
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Bassin Bleu(Day trip)
- Papier-mâché mask workshops
- Cast-iron merchant houses of the old town
- Jacmel Carnival (approx. February)
- Kabic and Ti Mouillage beaches
- Marché en Fer of Jacmel
- Painters and galleries along the seafront
- Surfing at Kabic
- Coffee warehouses on the waterfront
- Grilled lambi and fresh fish at the beach shacks
- Cascade Pichon in the hills east(Day trip)
Getting there
- Nearest airports:
- PAP