Things to see and do Blanchisseuse

Medium-difficulty hike (7 to 8h return). Take a guide with you who knows the way, and who you can easily find in the village or have recommended to you in Blanchisseuse. At the very end of the main road, past the last houses and hotel in the village, is a red bridge suspended over the Marianne River.

From this bridge runs a dirt track, only passable for a short distance by car, and even then only in the dry season. If you set off on foot from the bridge, you'll have to walk for around 3 hours through the virgin forest, over fairly steep terrain alternating between ascents and descents.

At the end of the track , you suddenly come upon a vast beach leading to the superb Paria beach, which has remained totally wild and unspoilt. A landscape of the beginning of the world, one kilometer of fine sand with, at the very end, a cliff that falls into the sea and the virgin forest that fringes the entire length of the curved beach. Follow the beach to the estuary.

Fifty meters before the estuary, you'll see a passage that goes inland following the river. Take it. After 200 m, the track joins the riverbed. You'll end up with your feet in the river and a shaded pool with a ten-metre waterfall, where you can enjoy a refreshing swim after your walk. Beware: the pool is deep - 7 or 8 m in the middle - and you'll soon lose your footing.

Beyond this first waterfall, there are two other, smaller pools, a kind of natural bubbling bath that can also be reached on foot, and where you can also take a dip.

Youcan continue to Matelot on a two-day trek, bivouacking on the beach.

By boat. A much quicker and less tiring alternative to the Paria waterfall is to ask a fisherman to take you in his pirogue to Paria beach. The trip only takes half an hour. Today's prices range up to US$150. But whether you're on your own or in a group, the price stays the same. During the trip, as you zigzag between small rocky islets battered by the surf, you'll have plenty of time to appreciate the splendour of this wild coastline, which has not yet been damaged by construction. To find a guide or pirogue, contact your hotel or ask Rodger at Lagunamar.

Laundress's second largest and covered sandy beach is located on the outskirts of the village. It is 1,4 km long (attention is not monitored). There can also be access to the beach by the Laguna Mar Beach Hotel to fall directly on the mouth of the Marianne River. Here the beach is confused with the estuary of the river Marianne, which forms a lagoon and where bathers can always hide when the sea is a little too agitated, the water is very refreshing. Private pay parking is very close.

It is the first beach (attention it is not supervised) when you arrive in the village of Blanchisseuse, rather small. The entrance is in front of the hotel-restaurant Surf's Country Side (indicated by a sign). The hotel does not bear its name for nothing, it is in this place that we find one of the best surf spots of the north coast, because the sea is often very stirring there. To reach it, you will have to take a small wooden footbridge on a hundred meters, bypassing a private property which faces the beach.

This 32 km trek is a superb hiking route, between completely virgin wild beaches and dense rainforest, an unforgettable experience, ideal if you plan to visit the island without a car to go from the northwest coast to the northeast without going all the way around Arima. A guide is essential for obvious safety reasons. On these heavenly white sandy beaches, leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs in peace during the season, and the best time to camp is when the moon is full to live this experience under a magical light.

As you leave Blanchisseuse, stop off at the Lagunamar hotel-restaurant for a coffee or even to order your meal for the return trip. Rodger, the Lagunamar's owner, can recommend a local guide if required. The trail starts just before the suspension bridge. It's an easy route along the river through farmland and forest. The three pools are an ideal bathing spot, easily accessible without a guide. The tour can also be combined with a visit to Avocat Waterfall, continuing along the river past the three pools.

2 hour round trip hike. Avocat is a small rural community 5 miles from Blanchisseuse. The road continues to the Marianne River, turn left by car and park there. A hiking trail starts here through the rainforest. You will see beautiful birds such as trogons, tanagers and passerines. At the end of the trail you come to the Avocado Waterfall, a 22 meter high waterfall, where you can swim and relax. This hike can be combined with the hike to the three pools.

This pretty little beach is located just before La Fillette. The entrance is not easy to find but it is worth the detour. The landscape from the heights of this beach is spectacular, the azure blue water, the white sandy beach lined with palm trees and coconut palms, with huge rocks standing in the middle against which the waves break, it's beautiful. In the background, red clay cliffs complete this panorama. Yarra bay is one of the most exotic beaches in the north of Trinidad.