Travel Guide Îlot Casy

Located in Prony Bay, Casy Island is an extension of the Grande Terre, which it would have been separated a million years ago. This 40 hectare islet is mainly composed of peridotite, the geological material behind the nickel richness of the Caledonia soils. Christened in 1854 in honour of Admiral Casy, this island is in the heart of a splendid natural reserve, sea and land. In 1870, two jardiniers of the penitentiary settled on the island to supply the Prony camp with fresh vegetables. Today, the island has nothing of purgatory and is more like a little paradise.Seven varieties of orchids and nearly 65 species of wood, some of them endemic, have been listed. Marked trails allow to know a little more about the flora and history of the island: take 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour of easy walking, depending on the trail. These three footpaths are in the form of more or less long family loops and have no difficulty. The first one will make you discover the cemetery and the southern tip of the island. The second will bring you with cycas, mysterious and primitive plants, real live fossils scattered along the east coast among colonnaires pines. Finally, you will discover through the great loop the vegetation of the arbustif mineral scrub and the humid forest that develops in the northern part of the island, while through beautiful beaches.