Things to see and do Le Maroni

The museum features an ever-expanding collection of live specimens of tarantulas, matutous and other beauties. The impressive butterfly collection includes rare specimens. In addition to insects endemic to French Guiana, you can see Amerindian pottery, stamped bricks from the four corners of French Guiana and, last but not least, blown bottles found on gold-panning sites (the oldest dates back to the ^17th century). A word of advice: arrive early, as tours fill up fast. And this is an astonishing visit, not to be missed!

The Morpho team welcomes you to the Kaw marshes, aboard this boat with removable beds and a capacity of 12 people at night and 16 during the day. The Morpho has a roof for shelter and observation of the flora and fauna. there are 3 tours to discover the marshes. Discovery (9.30am-3pm): trip up the Kaw River and lunch.Caimans and Birds (3.30pm-9am): sunset and ti'punch, lunch at a restaurant in the village of Kaw, search for caimans, overnight on the boat and breakfast. The Immersion package combines the two above.

This magnificent gîte is located 1h30/2h from Régina by pirogue. Several hammock carbets, a sanitary carbet (shower, WC, washbasin), a restaurant carbet and a palaver carbet for evening aperitifs. The camp is bordered by a creek where you can try your hand at gold panning. Amerindian or Saramaka guides will take you swimming down part of the river, and a botanical trail has been laid out. The site is family-friendly, allowing you to discover the Approuague in complete safety, and to go upstream to the Grand-Machicou or Grand-Canori jumps.

Pierre, a renowned Amazonian guide with a degree in biology and geology, will be delighted to show you around the Amazon rainforest. Hiking or canoeing, wildlife observation on Lake Petit Saut and the Mana estuary, discovery of the waterfalls and the Voltaire inselberg, "apéro-pêche" outings... and many other activities, always in a good mood! You'll find descriptions, prices and a calendar of outings on our website, which is a bit cluttered but very comprehensive!

This is the mythical place in Saint-Laurent where all convicts were unloaded on arrival from mainland France. After a medical examination, they were assigned to the various penitentiary centers in French Guiana. At the entrance to the camp, while waiting for the tour, you can enjoy a permanent photo exhibition retracing the history of the penal colony. Then, the guide, master of the keys, opens the doors to another world, and visitors are literally transported into this disturbing place. The most courageous will imagine themselves in the shoes of famous prisoners such as Papillon, Seznec or Dreyfus. It's a moving place, and the setting for Yves Boisset's L'Affaire Seznec (1993).

The beginnings. In 1644 - the year of Messire Charles Poncet's arrival in Cayenne - a few French survivors of a small colony established a year earlier were living on the banks of the Maroni. A first exploration of the river took place in 1820-1821, under the government of Baron de Laussat. This was followed by the mission of Lieutenant Carpentier in 1852. In his report of August 30, 1855, Carpentier wrote: "As for the Maroni, which borders the French and Dutch Guianas, it is far superior to the other Guiana rivers. The Amazon and Orinoco, alone, in this northern part of South America, outweigh it."

The lieutenant is enchanted by this region, and speaks highly of Sieur Kappler's establishment: "A fact that is happening at this establishment must attract the utmost attention of those interested in the colonization of these beautiful lands. About forty families from Friesland have settled in Kappler and have been cultivating and working the woods for over three years. When I left French Guiana a year ago, not a single sick person had yet been counted among them, yet they worked during the hottest hours of the day, without taking any precautions against the heat of the sun"

In 1852, Commissioner General Sarda-Garriga was asked to look for a more salubrious location for a penitentiary in French Guiana. His choice fell on the right bank of the Maroni, on the site of an ancient Galibi village where the Boni had settled. Between July 1852 and April 1853, work began on the penitentiary. But the departure of Sarda-Garriga put an end to the project. His successor showed no interest in the project, and it was not until Governor Baudin that the work was completed. Baudin arrived in French Guiana in November 1855 and took office as governor in February 1856. During these three months, he toured the Maroni, Mana, Sinnamary and Kourou rivers. He visited Kappler's establishment. His August 1856 report concluded: "I found some Europeans perfectly fed, housed cleanly and comfortably, in as good air as is possible between the tropics, and yet they were not free from fever."
The work of colonization began in earnest in 1858, just after the inauguration of the penitentiary. Saint-Laurent then became an agricultural penitentiary. The idea of colonizing and developing the economy of French Guiana in the manner of the English in Australia became a reality. The Saint-Laurent region became a model and several logging camps were opened, including those at Saint-Jean and Sparouine. Proud of this success, the French government decided to settle the deportees and, in 1859, the first convoy of condemned women arrived in Saint-Laurent. All were volunteers, chosen from among those most likely to return to a normal life. Soon, however, the health situation in French Guiana's prisons became catastrophic, and Napoleon III decided to suspend them. In 1867, he opted for New Caledonia. For twenty years, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni would receive no more Europeans.
In 1859, a shortage of skilled workers led to the closure of four shipyards. Only Saint-Louis and Saint-Maurice remained open. In 1878, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni became the headquarters of the penitentiary administration, before becoming a "special penitentiary commune" in 1880.

The establishment of the penal colony, birth of a commune. The Saint-Laurent penitentiary was founded in 1857. As early as 1852, M. Mélinon, one of the establishment's first commanding officers, dreamed of turning the region into a large-scale agricultural and forestry operation. The locality, then called Pointe-Bonaparte, was home to a few natives. In 1852, with the help of some forty former slaves from the Mana region, Mélinon began clearing the forest, and later obtained the services of a few dozen transported slaves to swell the ranks of his workers. On an inspection tour, the Governor of French Guiana, Admiral Laurent Baudin, decided that the future town would take the name of its patron, Saint-Laurent, as well as that of the river on which it was built, Maroni. The penitentiary, which had already been in operation for a year, was inaugurated a few years later, on February 21, 1858. In the same year, all the prison administration departments, offices, hotels for senior staff, houses for junior staff and guards, and a twelve-building hospital were installed.

On March 16, 1880, a decree made Saint-Laurent an autonomous commune. With this decree, the President of the Republic, Jules Grévy, decided to organize the penitentiary commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The decree was promulgated in Cayenne on May 7 by Governor Marie-Alfred-Armand Huart, and a director of the penitentiary administration was appointed to implement it. The Maroni penitentiary territory was renamed the "commune pénitentiaire du Maroni".

Punishments. The special maritime court in Saint-Laurent judges only convicts. It is presided over by a colonial infantry captain, whose assessors include the president of the Saint-Laurent civil court and a deputy head of the prison administration office. Another officer of the same rank is the Commissaire-Rapporteur, and a military supervisor acts as clerk. It is he who, when the time comes, reads the indictment to the accused. The meagre defense of those transported is provided by the wardens and by any free person willing to take on this role. The session room is the same as the courtroom of the disciplinary commission: on the day of the session, the door is open, as the hearings are public.

Caning: the number of strokes is set by decree in Paris. The whippers, who are also convicts, have no difficulty in making the torments even more terrible, depending on the mood of the guards. The convict Maynard writes of the whip Ambarrek: "When he struck the convicts bound to the fatal bench, he would rise on tiptoe so that the whip would fall from higher up, and suddenly curling up like a wild beast, he would lower the knotted whip and pull it horizontally. This Arab was the only corrector who tore off shreds of scarlet flesh with his seven-strap whip. His face twitched, his eyes sparkled. He showed all his teeth. He was dreadful The arrival of Jules Grévy as President of the Republic put an end to corporal punishment in the early 1880s. This was followed by the creation of a special maritime court and the institution of disciplinary camps.

The guillotine: when corporal punishment was abolished, the two machines were placed in a room in the Saint-Laurent disciplinary ward. Saint-Laurent's reputation as the capital of the penal colony was enhanced by the arrival of the two guillotines. Preparations for an execution began during the night. Executioners and assistant executioners erected the machine. They performed this task in silence, so as not to wake the occupants of the two rows of benches. At dawn, the group of "key-bearers" came to collect the condemned man. He was given a last meal, rum, a liter of wine and a pack of cigarettes. After this final snack, he was taken to the registry office, where he met the warden, the prosecutor, the doctor and the chaplain. He signed the register, and was then taken to the guillotine for execution. The guillotine used for death sentences was in permanent view of the other convicts. The executioner was a volunteer convict, who enjoyed a "privileged" position (bonuses, different meals).

Camp organization. The two prison administration buildings. On the right, the infirmary, and on the left, the accommodation for the warders and "key-holders", responsible for monitoring convicts and separated from other convicts for obvious security reasons. This building now houses a library.

Another complex includes the kitchen, the small chapel and the anthropometric room, where doctors were responsible for profiling convicts and assigning them tasks according to their skill level. A little further on, you can see the remains of a latrine, a basin, a well and a pump. A large mango tree stands proudly in the middle of the courtyard.

There were also double and single huts reserved for convicts sentenced to forced labor; the "Quartier des Relégués" (generally petty criminals convicted of theft), consisting of a collective building for up to 40 convicts and 19 individual cells; the "Quartier des Libérés", detained under the same conditions as the "relégués"; the "Tribunal Maritime Spécial", responsible for judging misdemeanors and felonies committed within the Camp's walls; the "Blockhaus", with a capacity of 40 convicts, but which sometimes housed twice that number in particularly harsh conditions: hindrance for the most recalcitrant, promiscuity, lack of air and light, and spartan sanitary conditions.

The rest of the buildings are divided up as follows: the Quartier Spécial, with 12 cells reserved for convicts sentenced to death (once the sentence had been passed, convicts waited up to 4 months for it to be carried out); the Premier Quartier, with some 20 cells for convicts bound for the Salvation Islands; the Deuxième, Troisième and Quatrième Quartier were reserved for "difficult" convicts, isolated from the others by gates. Finally, cell 47 is famous for having housed Henri Charrière, known as "Papillon".

Certainly the most challenging trail around Saül, thanks to its undulating terrain, but also one of the most beautiful. You'll walk along part of the Nouvelle France creek, past the Roche Bateau (a huge rock overlooking the creek). As well as finding a passing carbet, you'll pass by the Kanawa gîte where you can cool off! So pack your picnic for a great day's hiking, your hammock if you want to rest halfway through, and your swimsuit for a refreshing dip... Enjoy the ride!

The Kaw marshes are part of the Kaw-Roura nature reserve, which extends over 94,700 ha between the communes of Régina (on which the village of Kaw depends) and Roura. Management was first entrusted to the Arataï association (ministerial decree of March 13, 1998), then in February 2008 to the Association de gestion des espaces protégés (AGEP). Today, management of the reserve has been entrusted to the Parc Naturel Régional de Guyane (PNRG) since February 27, 2014.

In a grandiose setting, the Kaw River winds its way through magnificent flooded savannahs, amidst moucou-moucou, arums with large heart-shaped leaves. Zebus, a kind of humped oxen, move heavily through the water. In the air or underwater, life is everywhere, teeming and mysterious. As the boat glides gently over the surface of the water, your eyes and ears are alerted to the diversity of the still rich fauna, so protected and yet so threatened... Musk ducks and piprites cast you a sidelong glance, motionless, perched on the grasses, while numerous jacanas delight you with the unexpected yellow that unfolds in their lively, mischievous flight.

Manatees used to accompany the pirogues, but are now rare. Occasionally, the eye catches a hoazin, recognizable by the glorious crest on its head. All in all, a spectacle full of surprises for the attentive and curious visitor.

The "Marshes and the village of Kaw" tour includes a visit to the village, a trip up the marshes and an encounter with the caimans..." Red Ibis and Caimans " includes a trip down the river and wildlife observation. The "24-hour immersion in the heart of the marshes" combines one of the first two tours with a night in a carbet and piranha fishing, while"Kaw and its mountain "condenses into 3 days hiking, Wapou creek, Fourgassié waterfalls and an introduction to traditional gold panning.

This creek is often described as the most beautiful in the country and the closest to Cayenne. Gabriel Creek flows into the Mahury at the Roura bridge in Stoupan. It's best to go during the week, as you'll be almost alone.

After a few hundred meters, you'll reach the landing stage for the village of Dacca. A little further on, the vegetation changes, the cove becomes narrower and the water takes on an amber color. If the time and season are right, many morphos (large metallic blue butterflies, symbols of French Guiana) will come to greet you. A word of advice: make sure you don't make any noise, and keep your eyes peeled for monkeys and lazy sheep.

Further on, after passing under the old wooden bridge of Dégrad-Eskol, the creek leaves the forest for the swampy savannah, where the scenery is superb. Then it becomes narrower and it's time to turn back. The only precaution to take on this lovely pirogue ride is to check the tide. At low tide, the level of the creek won't allow you to go far, making it impossible to cross Dégrad-Eskol.

To reach the banks of Gabriel Creek, you have two options: you can launch your boat just after the Mahury bridge, to the left of the landing stage. This will allow you to sail up the entire creek. Alternatively, continue on to the village of Roura in the direction of Dacca (turn left past the town hall).

The easy "sentier des gros arbres" (big trees trail) takes you deep into the primary forest, offering an adventure to meet its giants. You'll discover some magnificent trees: fromager, ficus, hourglass (on this trail you'll find the largest hourglass in French Guiana, measuring 3 metres in diameter). Here, you'll have to forget your usual landmarks: for a good two hours, you'll be in the heart of vegetation as powerful as it is wild. It's a delightful walk for the whole family (easy level, perfectly accessible to children).

On Sunday mornings, the small market is the village's main attraction! Agricultural produce and handicrafts - such as these extremely fine embroideries in shimmering colors, as well as butterflies and tarantulas under glass - are displayed in a festival of colors. Nearby, women prepare salads, bamis, egg rolls and Asian soups, whose subtle scents waft through the air and excite, even whet the appetite!

Sabi aliba means "to know the river" in Bushiningué. As you may have gathered, we're talking about the Maroni here. Martin Fania, aka "Séké", and his team will take you on a discovery tour of a part of the Maroni he knows like the back of his hand, having grown up there. Discover the Maroni and Tapanahony up to the Sacred Mountain. He can then take you as far as Maripasoula. You'll then have the privilege of stopping off at his campou (small village), where traditional songs and dances, and a warm welcome from the children, make for an unforgettable journey.

This architecture and heritage interpretation center, opened in 2015 in the Transportation camp, highlights the history of the penal colony and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. In the various cells, interviews with Saint-Laurent residents are displayed, giving a glimpse into a bygone world: that of the prison administration. A moving historical journey through the eyes of the descendants of transporters and merchants who saw these groups of convicts in "striped pyjamas" pass by every morning. A recommended complement to a visit to the camp.

In this little corner of paradise, overlooking the jump, you'll have the chance to swim in the Approuague River, take pirogue rides, fish and try your hand at traditional gold panning. The 5 recently renovated bungalows are very comfortable! There are plenty of fun activities on offer, as well as a chance to explore the forest. From the camp, you can follow a trail for around 3 hours to the Angèle Creek waterfall. A warm welcome and professional service, not to mention exceptional meals!

Between 1887 and 1938, more than 17,000 inmates landed in the relégation camp at Saint-Jean, 17 km from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. On May 27, 1885, the vote on the law on the relegation of repeat offenders led to the internment of repeat offenders in the colonies for life. A distinction was then made between two types of regime: individual relegation, applicable to convicts with the financial means to support themselves and who had demonstrated exemplary conduct during their imprisonment, which authorized the relegated to work and benefit from a concession while assigning them to the colony; and collective relegation, which forced the relegated to forced labor supervised by members of the prison administration, while eventually allowing them to benefit from individual relegation.

The distinction between relegated and transported prisoners meant that they could not be interned in the same camp, which is why it was decided to create specific camps for relegated prisoners. In 1885, on the site of a former transport camp, abandoned due to insalubrity, the then Ministry built a settlers' village. Settled in four camps, the "relégués" were granted agricultural concessions and could sell their produce on the market. However, the first wooden huts built on the camp by the relegués quickly deteriorated under the Guyanese climate. The camp's insalubrious conditions led to the flight of many relégués. The authorities decided to reinforce control and sanitation by building 20 permanent huts, giving the camp the appearance of a penitentiary. The great need for manpower to rebuild the camp put an end to the system of individual relegation. The vast majority of those relegated were then assigned to forced labor in conditions akin to transport camps. The relegation camp was abandoned in 1943, and the French army moved in in 1961.

The volunteer association Meki Wi Libi Na Wan offers guided tours of this exceptional site, located 17 km from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, as well as of the surrounding village. Passionate, responsive guides will explain how the village of Saint-Jean was created and became the capital of the Relégation. The organization of the camp, the regime of relegation and the daily life of these "undesirables" will no longer hold any secrets for you. To organize your visit with the association, visit the Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Tourist Office.

For a complete discovery of the Kaw marshes, the nature reserve and the surrounding forest, take advantage of the expertise of this excellent agency. For the record, "Tigdilo" means "water tiger", ready to hunt the area with you! The guides know the area like the back of their hand, and will take you further than other service providers. The proposed tours are as follows: Caimans (2:30-9:30 p.m.): visit the village and marshes, meet the caimans at nightfall. Ti-punch stop by the creek. Bring your own picnic!

The shortest signposted route from Saül, starting from Chez Lulu. At the summit, at an altitude of 312 meters, a wooden deck offers a splendid view of the forest and the village. This short hike is particularly interesting for birdwatching. Before sunrise and sunset (the best times for observation), you can enjoy the flight of the macaws, which have taken up residence in the trees at the top of the hill. The calls of these giant parrots are as impressive as their wingspan.

This Ecomuseum traces the history of the Approuague, from the Amerindians to the region's current challenges. The vast Aubin-Laigné Creole house reveals the local history and natural environments that make up the entire Approuague-Kaw territory. Outside the house, the old sawmill offers an insight into woodworking, alongside a range of machinery linked to the sugar, rum and cocoa industries. An ideal stop-off to familiarize yourself with Régina's heritage.

Located on the Esplanade, next to the pontoon, in a pretty pink and blue building, the office will answer all your questions. Professionalism and a smile are our motto! Information on accommodation, restaurants and leisure activities, as well as administrative, cultural and historical information about Saint-Laurent and the region. High-quality, original temporary exhibitions and boutique (crafts, books and postcards). Bicycle rental.

Created in 1987, this military camp covers an area of 150 ha, but exercises take place in an area of around 900 ha to train commanders for extreme missions, among other things. The camp regularly welcomes units from other countries.