Saut de la Lézarde in Guadeloupe

I continue my exploration of other hikes in Guadeloupe with this article. Since our return from holiday in April 2023, we’ve gradually been back to forest walks with the children. Today I’d like to take you on a walk we’ve wanted to do for a long time: the Saut de la Lézarde. To be honest, we’d heard a lot about it. In particular, it was slippery and dangerous with children. So, in short, we confirm it.

As I said at the beginning of the article about the hike to the wreck of the DC3 plane behind the Soufrière volcano, this hike is entirely at your own risk. In fact, we’ve just published a full article on the Soufrière hike, sharing the experience with or without a guide.

Indeed, the site has been closed by municipal decree since 2015, following the all-too-frequent intervention of the fire brigade after several accidents there. So this article is not meant to encourage you to go there, but rather to tell you about the walk I took there. Once again, if something goes wrong, you’re on your own.

In case you didn’t know, we have a whole page on our blog listing all the walks we’ve done in Guadeloupe since we arrived. You’ll find links to all the articles, GPS tracks of all the walks and an interactive map to locate them. Check it out

Given what we’d recently heard about the place, we decided not to take the kids, and looking back I think we made the right decision. So we dropped the kids off at the Vieux-Fort school and headed for Petit Bourg, where the waterfall is located.

As in my article about the walk to Mamelle de Pigeon (on the road to the crossing), I won’t dwell on it. I’m falling further and further behind in my publications, and I still have quite a few practical articles to write about travelling to Guadeloupe. So here goes.

I’m going to tell you how to find the entrance to this walk. I’ll also give you my GPS track if you want to follow it. Normally, we use the tracks that you can find for free on the Mapsme application. But in this case, the track that appears on the application is wrong. The weather was not looking too good when we finally arrived at the site at around 9am. The weather wasn’t a problem, though, as we were in the mood for a bit of exploration. So we packed our camera gear and set off.

We went through the gate that everyone seems to go through. There is a memorial plaque at the entrance to the gate, a reminder that two people (one of them a 6 year old child) died on the spot, swept away by a flood. It’s a bit chilling. The path begins on the left, passing disused buildings. We come across the classic “Guadeloupe is too beautiful to become a dustbin” sign, which is clearly true! We knew from the start what we were getting into. The path descends over very slippery clay through a beautiful tropical forest. We see local flowers such as the porcelain rose and heliconias. A funny banana shoot is growing back from a felled trunk.

We were barely five minutes into the walk when we came across another group. They seemed to be in trouble. As we approached they were on a very steep section of slippery mud. There were no roots to hold on to and it was getting difficult. The mud is really impressive and it’s going to take us a while to get down without falling…

We made our way down carefully, looking for less slippery spots, especially through the forest of porcelain roses, a flower Melanie loves. We did as well as we could, overtaking the slower group. There was even a couple with a child in a baby carrier and although it’s possible, you don’t want the man to fall off… I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with Téo behind me.

We finally reached a flat area below the forest after descending this first big slope. The scenery is truly magnificent: The vegetation is as impressive as ever, with beautiful green foliage in a pleasantly humid atmosphere. We can see that it rains frequently here, judging by the soaked path and trees.

This little stretch of land is really pleasant and we always enjoy observing the vegetation, being careful where we put our feet. We walk for five minutes through this beautiful forest to reach our big descent. It reminds me of the descent into the nearby Moustique Canyon. This descent is less frightening than the first. There are a series of roots in the form of spider webs to get down. It’s still slippery, of course. But there are plenty of things to hold on to. In the end, it’s relatively easy.

After the descent, we continued on the path towards the Saut de la Lézarde. We could already hear the sound of it below us. At the end of the path, there were a couple of areas where there had been recent landslides (that’s my geologist side talking, haha). Having finished, we had to walk for fifteen minutes to reach the banks of the Lézarde. It began to rain lightly, which gave our walk a touch of Indiana Jones. Admittedly, we would have preferred good weather, but it’s not the end of the world. Even in the rain, the place is sublime. We were in a truly primordial environment, tropical and humid. And we could see the imposing waterfall in the background. The time it takes to get to the bottom varies between 30 minutes and 1 hour. It depends on the condition of the path and if you don’t mind walking in the mud.

Even though it’s starting to rain in earnest, I’m amazed at the color of water in the river, which is really beautiful. We took advantage of being the first to descend to take some photos and soak up the beauty of the place. We made our way to the famous Saut. The waterfall is about ten metres high, in a rocky cirque about 25/30 metres wide. At the foot of the waterfall is a beautiful deep pool, perfect for a swim. Don’t forget to look up to see the vegetation around you!

In spite of the pouring rain, we protected our cameras as best we could and decided to go for a dip in this enchanting setting. I have to admit that standing in the rain for a few moments, looking at the waterfall and the surrounding vegetation, is a great feeling. We stayed down there for half an hour, then decided to go back up before the crowds arrived, which didn’t take long.

We climbed back up the same way, which I found less difficult than the descent, where we were really afraid of slipping and ending up at the bottom. There were a few difficult moments when we slipped. But nothing that was insurmountable.

Finally, we had a great time as a couple, haha. Some people would have settled for a day in a hotel to rest, but not us! The waterfall is undeniably beautiful, in a very pleasant location, but the walk was really dangerous. The level of mud was reasonable (I had been walking for hours in the mud to see the wreckage of the DC3, haha), but it was the slippery ground that made it really tricky. So you have to be careful.

We ended the morning by discovering a little place to eat that we didn’t know about: the Aire de Corossol. This place is much less known than other places to eat (such as Bras David) and is well worth a visit. There are huts by the river and the children can swim safely in the shallow water.

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, because it’s just a short walk and not an official one these days….

I’m not going to repeat everything I wrote in my article on how to go to Guadeloupe. In particular, you’ll find information on airlines, fares and options from abroad. Once you’re here, you’ll need to hire a car if you want to be completely independent on your holiday in Guadeloupe. We often recommend that you use the Discover cars comparison tool to compare the rates offered by different car hire companies in Guadeloupe.

To get to Saut de la Lézarde, go to Petit-Bourg, take the Route de la Traversée and exit onto the D1 towards Vernou. Here is the route from the exit.

Practical information

A few numbers:

• Round trip distance: 1 km
• Duration: 30 min – 1 hour (depending on conditions)
• Height difference: 80m
• Return to starting point: YES
• Official” trail: NO (closed since 2015)

You can stay close to the site. I particularly recommend these 2 places:

• Les Gites de la Lézarde: These are renowned for being idyllic places to stay, set in the heart of a lush and peaceful garden. The owners, Laurent and Christelle, are warm, helpful and genuinely eager to help. They offer their guests the highest level of hospitality. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The pools, the spa and the excellent breakfast are all much appreciated in the feedback we’ve received,
• Cap Colibri: This is another nearby holiday home with excellent facilities. You will be warmly welcomed by Christelle and Philippe, the owners, who are friendly, discreet and give good advice on walks. The cleanliness and comfort of the gîte are often commented on.

Of course there are many hikes in the area. To name just few hikes:

• Cascade Tambour of Diane: a walk that has been a must for some time,
• Canyon Moustique: a magnificent and very original walk in a small canyon (swimming obligatory),
• Les Chutes Moraux: further south, magnificent, we love them, article to follow,
• Saut du Bras du Fort: a very nice, easy walk, also for families.

I’ll stop there, but I could of course mention others. Finally, Saut de la Lezarde is a really beautiful place, a special place in a way. As I said at the beginning, the site is closed, so you go there knowing that. I would strongly advise you to take care on the way down, especially in the muddy parts…For a more accessible waterfall, the Kalinago waterfall is also very nice (Baillif). If you’re looking for another easy and enjoyable hike in Guadeloupe, be sure to check out the Bis Waterfall, a perfect hike for everyone.

See you soon for the discovery of another corner of Guadeloupe. Since then we’ve discovered the wonderful Anse Castalia, in Grand-Terre!

Written by Sylvain PONS

Since 2021, I've been living in the Guadeloupe archipelago with Mélanie and our two children. We are exploring these beautiful islands and discovering the treasures that we are happy to share with you!

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