La Désirade Island
“La Desirade” Island is an elongated limestone island and is also a dependency of Guadeloupe archipelago. The name “La Désirade” has been given by Christopher Columbus in 1493 because, the sailors desired extremely to reach it after long weeks on the sea.
The main characteristics of the island are the combination of its highest point “Grande Montagne” reaching 273 metres and the coastline with beautiful white sandy beaches protected by long coral reefs.
Due to its dry tropical climate, there is no agriculture industry in “La Desirade” Island. Therefore, sheep and goat farming as well as fishing are keys economic drivers. In addition to an ideal place to do scuba-diving, tourism activities are increasingly flourishing in “La Désirade”, mostly for people who have a strong passion for nature. The island is composed of a single road that runs its length and it’s interesting to explore it either by walk, bike or scooter.
“Petite Terre” archipelago which is made up of two uninhabited islets (“Terre de Haut” and “Terre de Bas”) is located about seven miles from “La Désirade” to which it belongs administratively. “Petite Terre”, surrounded by clear waters has been classified Nature Reserve in 1998 due to its biological diversity and different natural environments such as cliffs, coral reefs, forests, lagoon, sandy beaches, a rich marine environment, iguanas and two species of turtle (The green sea turtle and the loggerhead sea turtle).
“La Désirade” is a quiet, simple and authentic island with welcoming inhabitants as well as having a diversified wildlife in “Petite-Terre” archipelago.
Here are some unforgettable places not to be missed when visiting “La Désirade” Island:
- The ruins of the old leper colony and cotton plant
- The nature reserve of “Petite Terre”
- The marine cemetery of “Beauséjour”
- The lighthouse of “La Pointe double”
- The chapel “Notre-Dame du Calvaire” and the church of “Notre-Dame-De-Bon-Secours”
- “Le Morne du Souffleur”, a short one-hour hike
- “Plage de Fifi”, “Plage du Souffleur” and “Plage à Fanfan”– white sandy beaches
- “Petite-Rivière”, the ideal beach for scuba diving