Walk to the Parabole Falls

This is a waterfall that Mélanie and I have been wanting to discover for a long time. We just haven’t had the chance yet. All the locals and tourists know the famous Bassin Bleu on the heights of Gourbeyre, but few know about the famous Cascade de la Parabole further up the valley!

We haven’t really had a chance to hike in Guadeloupe lately, I have to admit, as we’ve been pretty lazy the last few months. You’ll find all the articles about our walks and hikes in Guadeloupe if you click on the link above. It’s something we’re really passionate about here and even Mélanie, who wasn’t really into walking at first, is increasingly enjoying the discovery and sharing of moments in the great outdoors.

It must be said that Guadeloupe, particularly the island of Basse-Terre, is truly magnificent in this regard. Just get lost in the Guadeloupe National Park for a few hours. You’ll see how beautiful and rich the area is.

Let me take you around this magnificent waterfall!

Mélanie and I had recently started a routine: I took half a day off every month to have some time to ourselves, without the children. But I have to admit that it had been a long time since we had done this. At the beginning of March, we decided to revive our traditions. On a Friday morning, just after dropping the children off at school, we set off to discover the famous Cascade de la Parabole.

It has to be said that this walk has quite a reputation and although it’s quite close to our home, we hadn’t had time to organize it yet. Along the roads of Gourbeyre, we set off towards the Plaine des Palmistes. The weather seemed to be quite mild and the sun was shining. It’s a piece of advice we often give to tourists who come here. If you want to go hiking, it’s better to leave very early because the weather often turns cloudy as soon as the heat arrives. And if you decide to go deep into a valley to discover a waterfall, it’s best to make sure you don’t go when the weather is bad, especially when it’s raining, which can be very dangerous.

We arrived at the Bassin Bleu car park at 8.30am and guess what? We were the first ones in the car park. The tourists arrive later and you only have to look at the crowd when we get back at noon to realize that people don’t get up that early, haha! Anyway, we’re ready. Shoes on, rucksack already packed from the day before, and we’re off towards the Bassin Bleu to start with. Yes, the Cascade de la Parabole is actually about an hour and a half’s walk upstream from the Bassin Bleu, at the end of a magnificent valley, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article. We won’t dwell on this first section because we know it by heart. It must be said that this famous walk around the Bassin Bleu, which is not at all difficult but gives a first impression of the Guadeloupean forest, is something we always take our friends or family on holiday.

We were surprised to see that a snack bar had been set up in the car park and that the path leading to the entrance to the forest had been completely cleared and laid out in a certain way. It’s a shame, but that’s the price of success. The short 10-minute walk through the forest to the Bassin Bleu is as beautiful as ever, especially early in the morning with the birdsong. There’s nobody around, just us, and we’re having a great time.

Having walked for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the Bassin Bleu. There really isn’t much water compared to what we’re used to seeing. I hadn’t noticed, but just before we got there, something had been done. They have paved part of the path to make it more accessible. It’s practical for some, of course, but it’s a pity because it ruins the site. Mélanie took the opportunity to take her drone for a flight through the trees. The area is as beautiful as ever, especially with no one around and in the early hours of the morning! Judge for yourself.

Now that that’s off our minds, let’s get down to business. If you’re looking for information on how to get to the Cascade de la Parabole, there are apparently several paths that can take you there. The best known is the one that continues upstream from the Bassin Bleu. I’ve also heard that there’s a path that starts from a place called Moscow. You just have to follow the road at the end of the Bassin Bleu car park. I’ll have to check the GPS track. But I think you’re crossing private roads and it’s complicated in reality.

Anyway, we stuck to our original idea. We climbed the famous rope to the right of the Bassin Bleu, which leads to the start of the valley. I’d already climbed about a hundred meters above it, but had never really gone further. What strikes me most at the end is the presence of magnificent pools of truly magnificent water. If you’re motivated to climb just above and want to avoid the crowds in the Bassin Bleu at certain times of the day, all you need to do is walk a few minutes above the pool and you’ll be able to enjoy little spots just for you. It’s almost a shame not to, given the crowds below.

Admittedly, you have to be careful with the rope, as it can slip. But all in all, it’s quite manageable. The first part, just above the pool, is really great. It’s a really humid tropical forest with beautiful vegetation. You’re just above the river and you can see a series of pools of varying depth. The water has a great color. In fact, I can see myself tobogganing around here, haha, as the force of the water has completely worn away some of the rocks. The first part is really easy, rather flat and runs along a large water pipe (a water catchment, I imagine?). Ten minutes later you’re in the riverbed. We’d downloaded several GPS tracks to make sure we knew where we were going, although we knew this wasn’t an official walk and wasn’t really signposted.

So we start this second part of the walk in the small river bed, amidst the pebbles, rocks and huge boulders that litter the river. We’re all alone, with no sound except nature, and frankly, we feel very comfortable. Here, at the bottom of this valley, nature is particularly beautiful and you just have to keep your eyes open like a child to appreciate the scenery around you. We follow the few cairns here and there, which tell us (we hope) that we’re on the right track!

Half an hour’s walk through the forest brings us to a sort of bend in the river. We’d read and thought we’d understood that we had to cross this bend, i.e. the river, as it was impossible to get through here. So we decided (wrongly, haha) to blindly climb up the steep slope on our left, but after 10/15 minutes we realized that it led nowhere and that we were literally in danger of getting lost if we continued. Well, sort of, because I’ve got my GPS and I’m recording the track, so if the worst comes to the worst, we turn around and follow our route. So there’s no risk. We admit our mistake and go back down to the river the same way we came up. We decide to continue past the bend and see what happens! It turns out that we were right to go on and that NO, we shouldn’t go up the mountain to see the Cascade de la Parabole.

After passing a huge tree trunk that forms a bridge in the middle of the river, we continue along the bend, facing a kind of small canyon that narrows. The passage gets narrower and narrower in the valley and we’ll have to dig ourselves in! Of course, there’s no point in pointing out that our feet got wet a long time ago, in case you were wondering! The canyon is magnificent, hard to put into words or even photos, but you have to see it to believe it. The walls are close to us, the turquoise river flows through the middle and the turquoise green moss runs along the banks – it’s just magical. There were a few small pools of varying depths that forced us to wade in, but on the whole we didn’t get any higher than our thighs. During the rainy season the water level can be much higher.

We entered the canyon, rounded a bend in the canyon and came to a small waterfall a few meters high. On the right a rope was laid out to climb over the obstacle. Nothing too insurmountable, I assure you. From the top, the color of the water is amazing – frankly, we’re over the moon. We continue along the river bed, which widens again, but the surroundings remain as beautiful as ever.

About an hour after leaving the blue pool, we come to what looks like a fork in the road. We have come to a double waterfall, over which we can see the semblance of a path leading off to the right into the forest. But at this point we didn’t really know whether to continue into the river or turn right. We stuck to our route and followed the river to the end. Well, it turns out we were wrong, because we ended up at the foot of some impassable cliffs, haha. In the end, however, we came to a magnificent waterfall, about 4 meters high, which was impossible to climb. Also, a recent landslide on the left has partially blocked the riverbed, which is trying to make its way through all the debris and earth in the middle. So if you’ve come this far and can’t go any further, you’ve gone too far. Let’s walk back for 5 minutes to the famous junction of the two mini-waterfalls, where a tree trunk slides into the water. This is the famous landmark and the moment to turn right into the forest.

From this point on, the scenery changes slightly as we walk for 10 minutes through the damp forest. For the first time we have a bit more of a view above us and the sky is rather kind to us, even though we have had a few showers along the way. We continue to climb through the forest, following what looks like a path. In this part of the forest we find our bearings with the famous orange spray cans that can be found here and there on the trunks of the trees, but we weren’t expecting a nice set of markers to guide you along the path!

And then, at a famous flat spot, we stopped and looked to our left at a precipice with a rope going down steeply. We had been given directions, so this is the way down to the Cascade de la Parabole. Be careful, it’s easy to miss the junction and there are no signs. We made our way down through the forest, trying not to make a mess, haha. In the end, the descent wasn’t that complicated and 5 minutes later, as we were climbing back up along the river, we heard the muffled sound of the waterfall plummeting to the bottom of the valley. Finally, after an hour and a half’s walk from the Bassin Bleu, there was a landmark, knowing that we had been lost in the forest for 10 minutes. At a good pace, I’d say it’s a maximum of an hour’s walk from the Bassin Bleu.

The Cascade de la Parabole is right in front of us. It’s still quite majestic, although from what we’ve seen there’s recently been a big landslide on the left side, blocking part of the river just below. Still, the place is magnificent, we’re alone and we’re in paradise. We take the time to eat some dried fruit to regain our strength. Finally, I took the opportunity to take some long shots of the place, which is truly magnificent. We decided to make the most of the moment by gently jumping into the beautiful pool at the foot of the waterfall, which allowed us to immerse ourselves without a care in the world. Even though there was only a small group of 3 people, we were at the top of our game and happy to be there. It’s probably the coldest water we’ve ever been in. However, the place is perfect for walkers who want to swim and enjoy the lush vegetation all around. When we emerged, our arms were burning from the coldness of the water, probably a reaction to the relative warmth outside.

In short, we spent half an hour here and then left without too much trouble. An hour’s walk in the opposite direction took us to the Bassin Bleu, which turned out to be quite easy. Arriving there at midday, we were shocked to find at least 20 or 25 people crowded together at the foot of the Bassin Bleu. We didn’t like it and quickly made our way to the car park where we had parked.

It really was an extraordinary experience from every point of view. It’s a good thing we left early because the weather is getting really cloudy and it’s starting to rain quite heavily. A word of advice: we recommend leaving as early as possible to avoid any problems. We met some people on the way back at 11am who were trying to do the climb, but I wouldn’t recommend it at all because you can quickly get stuck in a torrential downpour at the bottom of a valley and it would be too dangerous to cross the various canyons you have to take into account.

Even if the total height difference is not immense, bear in mind the difficulty of having to walk in the river, on slippery rocks, with no real path to follow throughout and passages in small gorges (in case of rain). It’s definitely not a classic walk, but if you want to explore the forest and a waterfall relatively off the beaten track, this is the place to be!

Here’s some quick information about our practice area.

As you’d expect, you’ll need to get to Guadeloupe first, and we’ve written a full article on the subject which will tell you everything you need to know. Once you’re there, we recommend that you hire a car so that you can be completely self-sufficient, bearing in mind that public transport is not that reliable. We often recommend comparing prices on the Discover cars website, which allows you to compare the cost of hiring a car for your stay in Guadeloupe from different car hire companies.

Once you’re on the island, you’ll need to drive to the very south of the island of Basse-Terre, in the commune of Gourbeyre. Here’s the exact route to the Bassin Bleu car park.

By the way, I was going to put the GPS track here, but the fact that we’re in the undergrowth means that reception is very poor and the track will be more misleading than anything else…

If you want to stay overnight in the area, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Here are three ideas we particularly recommend:

• Habitation La Reine du Camp: located on the heights of Saint-Claude, this is a magnificent residence that will delight you during your stay.
• BEL Z ‘IGUANE: a beautiful gîte with a swimming pool, very well known.
• Les Bananes Vertes: A gîte on the heights of Saint-Claude that we often recommend because of its reputation.

You can also look at other gîtes in Saint-Claude or Gourbeyre to find what you’re looking for!

If you’re in the area and love nature, you’ve come to the right place. Here are just a few of the must-do activities in the area:

• Walk to the Soufrière volcano,
• Walking to the Galion waterfall (a little further north of the Parabole waterfall, but accessible by a different route).
• And many other more or less famous walks for swimming!

In a different style, we discovered the Kalinago waterfall on the Rivière du Plessis in Baillif, a much easier and more accessible walk for families.

We hope to see you soon,

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!

Despite our care, a mistake may have slipped into this article. If you find any, please don't hesitate to let us know so we can correct it as soon as possible and keep our information up-to-date!