Natural Crafts Matoury

Mont Grand-Matoury : at 234 m, this is the highest hill on the island of Cayenne. The 2,700-hectare forest has been regularly logged since the ^17th century. Wood from the forest fed the boilers of the Mirande distillery (the ruins on the Matoury road), and the slopes, once cleared, were planted with sugar cane, destined for the Mirande factory, then the Rémire factory until 1984.

The Mirande forest: in 1942, it was classified as a forest reserve by a decree issued by the colonial administration at the time. An arrêté de conservation de biotope (biotope conservation order) was signed on April 11, 1994, covering the entire mountain, which is also classified as a Znieff (natural zone of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest).

The Mirande nature trail is probably one of the most beautiful walks you can do around Cayenne in 3 hours. A path winds its way through Mont Grand-Matoury, a nature reserve populated mainly by birds. Encounters with wildlife are frequent, but it's at sunrise and sunset that the chances of spotting macaws, toucans or sloths are greatest. The Paypayo trail (2.5 km loop) takes you through a primary forest rich in biodiversity. The "Cascades" trail (2.8 km loop) follows the small waterfalls of the Mancelière creek. Allow 2 to 3 hours for both trails.