La Désirade
Guadeloupe · 30 m
Description
La Désirade is the quietest of the Guadeloupe islands, a dry limestone ridge eleven kilometres long with one road, one village and about fifteen hundred people. Columbus named it on his second voyage as the first land sighted after the Atlantic crossing. The plateau above is a geological reserve holding the oldest rock in the Lesser Antilles, and it is grazed by goats and covered in cactus. A leper colony and a weather station stand abandoned at either end. The beaches are white, shallow and almost always empty. The crossing takes forty-five minutes and can be rough.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 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
- Plage du Souffleur
- Réserve géologique on the plateau
- Ferry from Saint-François
- Beauséjour village and its church
- Abandoned leper colony at Baie-Mahault
- Plage de Fifi and Petite-Rivière
- Grande Montagne viewpoint
- Iguanas and cactus scrub on the ridge
- Snorkelling on the fringing reef
Getting there
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry