Cayenne Region Attractions

The best eco-tourism opportunity in the Cayenne region is the Emerald Jungle Village.

The solar-powered lodge is an abandoned French Foreign Legion post and run by a former director of the Suriname Zoo.

The building contains a library and there is a botanical trail on the property.

The staff at the lodge run excursions through eastern French Guiana and canoes and mountain bikes are rented.

Eco-tourism tours can be taken up the Approuague River, the fourth largest river in French Guiana.

Sunday is the best day to visit this Asian village of 1,000 populated mainly by Hmong refugees transplanted from Laos in the 1970s. The fascinating Sunday market held here features Hmong embroidery and weaving and local noodle soups.

The Cacao museum has a very extensive bug and butterfly collection.

The historical ruins of Fort Diamant are seen at the point of the Cayenne Peninsula.

The Cayenne-Rochambeau International Airport lays 16km/10mi southwest of Cayenne. Taxis to and from the airport are available. Car rental desks are on-site.

This is the main port of French Guiana, located on the Cayenne Peninsula on the northwest bank of the Mahury river.

The entrance is lit and buoyed, and yachts usually anchor outside the main channel by the shore.

Gabrielle Creek is a good example of Amazonian forest scenery, amid which the large blue Morpho butterflies can be seen.

Upstream are the clear and swimmable Fourgassié waterfalls.

The Grand Matoury Nature Reserve offers an interesting 5km/3mi hike on interpretation paths through a primary forest.

Les Nourages, a remote site not far from Régina is one of the best bird watching areas in French Guiana. This research station is technically off-limits to travelers, but trips to the edge of the reserve can be arranged.

A large range of Guianese animals such as jaguars, black caimans, monkeys, snakes, tapirs, giant otters, parrots, and anteaters can be seen at the Macouria Zoo.

There is also an excellent Creole restaurant in the village.

From the town of Rémire-Montjoly there is a hiking trail to the top of Mahury Mountain on the Cayenne Peninsula.

This town on the Montsinery River has a little zoo whose big attraction is the feeding of the spectacled caiman.

An orchid garden is located nearby.

This somewhat rundown village on the Approuague River is located in a former gold-mining area.

A community of 12,000 people, Rémire was established as a sugar plantation. At Montjoly are Cayenne's best beach and the ruins of a fortress and an early colonial sugar mill.

This village on the east bank of the Mahury River has an interesting 19th C church.

Near Roura is the village of Dacca where Laotian immigrants have made the area home.

St Georges de l'Oiapoque, located at the Brazilian border is reachable only by plane. St Georges de l'Oiapoque presents an ethnic mix of Palikur Amerindians, Creoles, Europeans and Brazilians.

It's the starting point for discovering the large border river and its rapids, or for journeys into the Amapá region of Brazil with its native Amerindian population.

This village named after a former governor features an early colonial sugar mill. Hiking opportunities through the forest are available. The path crosses what was once French Guiana's largest sugar plantation in the 18th C.