Parc de la Source in Bouillante

Since we’ve lived in Polynesia, and now even more so in Guadeloupe, we’ve always wanted to explore new activities. Although I mentioned it recently in my article about the discovery of sailing in Les Saintes, we’re in the middle of a big project with Mélanie that’s taking up all our time and is 100% our focus at the moment. We’ll talk about it on the blog again soon. Today I’d like to tell you about another experience, a visit to the Parc de la Source in Bouillante.

This famous park, located in the commune of Bouillante, has just opened its doors in July 2022. We’d heard about it several times and received some feedback. But we’d never been there before. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that we’re increasingly recommending a website that specialises in booking outdoor activities online: Manawa. It allows us to try out activities and give our full opinion in an article like this. Recently, we were lucky enough to go paddleboarding in the Morne à l’Eau mangroves with them, and Mélanie even had the chance to fly over Pointe des Châteaux in a microlight.

As we state at the beginning of each article to avoid confusion, we went to the famous Parc de la Source in partnership with Manawa. We only went once with Mélanie, without the children, just to have a drink on the beautiful wooden terrace overlooking the îlets Pigeons. Our opinion in this article is completely sincere and we are committed to providing you with honest information.

Come on, I’ll take you to discover this new place.

As I mentioned earlier, the park was inaugurated on 14 July 2022. It is officially a large agroforestry and leisure park. That’s what we call it. In simple terms, it’s a 10-hectare nature park that’s entirely dedicated to recreation and the forest. Inside the park you’ll find the magnificent Queue de Cheval waterfall, the star of the park.

To sum up, you’ll find a network of paths (mainly gravel) and two footpaths that will allow you to discover the mesophile forest typical of this area. This type of forest covers the Basse-Terre at an altitude of between 300 and 500 metres. This type of forest grows on rich, well-drained volcanic soils and is characterised by large trees (up to 30 metres in height). What distinguishes it from the hygrophilous forest is the lower presence of epiphytes, you know, those famous plants that attach themselves to trees and need a support to develop.

The park’s other strong point is the possibility of picnics in one of the 14 caravans available throughout the park. These can of course be booked in advance. You will find all the practical information you need at the end of this article.

The park also offers a range of complementary services and activities such as yoga, Creole lessons, wellness days, domino tournaments and orienteering races.

As I mentioned earlier, we came once for a drink with Mélanie. I have to admit that we were a bit prejudiced because of what we’d heard about it. Especially the fact that you have to pay to walk in the forest, whereas here in Guadeloupe you can do it everywhere. But between us we decided that we had to come and see for ourselves so that we could talk about it and give our opinion.

So on this Sunday morning we left home for the Parc de la Source in Bouillante. The park is an hour’s drive from Vieux-Fort. The weather was beautiful and everything went well. We arrived when the park opened at 9.30am. We waited for the guide to show us how vanilla is grown after checking in at the park reception. The reception area is quite pleasant. The reception area is quite nice, a large wooden room with a nice frame and a large variety of local produce such as ornaments, local jams, pralines, paintings, books, sewing and so on. Some items may be interesting to buy, but they are not always available. Some items may be worth buying, but others are, in our opinion, a little too expensive.

The advantage of this place is that it’s open to all visitors without having to pay the park entrance fee, which is what we did the first time with Mélanie. Finally, it’s particularly recommended if you’re in the area and want a drink on the terrace with a beautiful view of Guadeloupe’s west coast. In fact, this place has a beautiful wooden terrace overlooking the surroundings. By the way, we tried the café liégeois. It was very good, much better than the fresh fruit juices, which contained too much water for our taste.

We set off with another small group of two to discover this famous park. We were offered a guided tour of the vanilla plantation as soon as we arrived at the reception. Although we were already familiar with vanilla cultivation and had spent six years in Tahiti (which helped), we took the short tour. The guide takes us through the basics of vanilla growing, its importation, development, pollination and so on. It’s quite entertaining and well summarised. Of course, it’s less complex than what we were used to hearing in Polynesia, but I don’t mind, to be honest. The guide also took us to the vanilla plantation for further explanations. It’s very well laid out and full of flowers, it’s very pleasant. After a short visit of about 30 minutes, we were free to explore the park at our leisure.

We follow the classic route, using the map we got at the reception. If you live here, you should be aware that this is not a rainforest per se, compared to what you may find at the foot of La Soufrière or at the bottom of the National Park. On the whole, it’s a much drier looking forest. It has to be said that the current season is not conducive to rain, which is due in a few months’ time. So we set off along the path laid out for walking in the park. You can hear the birds singing in the distance and the atmosphere is very pleasant and peaceful. There’s not many people here, so we’ll have a great time.

I have to admit that we’re a bit skeptical about the improvements that have been made. We’re used to walking on trails that are generally slippery, muddy and a bit dangerous, haha. But you have to put things in context, that’s not what this particular park is about. What’s more, as soon as we arrive at the reception we are told that a small buggy can pick us up anywhere in the park if we get tired, for an extra €2. So you can see why these wide gravel paths have been laid all over the park. I can understand the intention, but I think it detracts a bit from the place.

The fact remains that we enjoyed the walk and the descent to the famous waterfall. On the way down, we passed all the cabins in the park. They are well equipped and spacious. There’s also a safe and barbecue, with extra wood available (more on that later…).

To get to the river’s edge, or almost, it’s about a 25 minute walk, all downhill. You can hear the waterfall in the distance and the birds are still singing. We take the path that leads to the famous “Horse Tail” waterfall. It’s a truly magnificent spot and has been well landscaped. The final descent is on a wooden structure overlooking the river. They’ve done a really good job. The last few metres to the waterfall are on a narrow ladder where you have to be careful not to slip, especially with small children. We finally arrived at this magnificent waterfall and I have to say it’s one of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. Well, there were about ten people there when we arrived, which spoiled the experience, but it wasn’t their fault, haha. Anyway, the people leave after 15 minutes and we get to enjoy this magnificent natural setting all to ourselves.

This waterfall is about 20 metres high and cascades down a beautiful rock face. At the bottom there is a wonderful swimming pool. Louis and Téo were delighted to put on their swimming trunks and jump into the water. Mélanie did the same. I decided to join them and, to be honest, we’re in for a treat. We think it is the main attraction of the park. We spent half an hour down there, enjoying the magnificent setting, and then went back up to look for a picnic spot. Even though there is a reservation system for the picnic areas, if they are available, you can of course have them.

After a pleasant family picnic we decided to turn back. We decided to walk along the Bourceau river, which is the source of the waterfall upstream. There’s another spot where you can swim, but when we passed it, the water level was too low to really enjoy it. So we decided to walk back up one of the two paths that lead to the reception area. The paths are well signposted: the source path and the café path. We decided to take the Source Path, which goes deep into the woods and starts off quite steep. It’s not a very long path, but it’s still quite steep, which I don’t think makes it all that obvious. It’s nothing out of the ordinary in terms of what we’re used to on walks here, but it’s worth a mention. The Cafe path makes it look easier (on the map).

Finally, we arrived at the famous spring that gives the park its name. This used to be a very important source used by the people living in Bouillante. It was a good opportunity to cool off and dip your head in the water, as the climb was steep. The end of the path is fairly easy, winding gently up the side of the mountain. We ended our walk back at the reception by finding the gravel path we had taken on the way up. All in all, we’d been here about four hours. The kids are tired and it’s time to go home. Before we set off again, we had some ice cream and fresh juice on the lovely terrace.

That’s it for this little exploration of the Parc de la Source. I hope you enjoyed the walk and that the photos make you want to go there.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is our opinion because we have been there, we have visited the place and we are free to write what we like. We always wanted to be honest with Mélanie and give her our personal view, rather than relying on rumours. So the real question is: is Parc de la Source worth a visit or not?

We’ve discussed this at length with Mélanie and we’re in broad agreement. Under no circumstances would we be against a visit to the Parc de la Source. It’s a very nice park, with explanations about vanilla at the beginning, a beautiful waterfall at the bottom where you can swim, as well as interesting picnic areas if you want to spend the day with the family. So it’s clearly a nice little walk to do if you’re on holiday here.

However, there were a few things that worried us during our visit. Firstly, while we have some sympathy with the idea of a couple of acres of gravel paths, it doesn’t do much for the area. It’s a bit of a shame to have to walk on coarse gravel when you’re in the middle of the countryside. Again, we’re not criticising because we understand that it makes it easier for people who don’t walk much, if at all, to discover a nature park and a waterfall. So yes, it was interesting for those people.

The second thing that bothered us was the prices of the various services. We can understand why the entrance fee is “so high” when you see the facilities that have been built on site and the need for equipment. However, in our opinion, paying 17 euros for a walk through a fully landscaped park and a view of a waterfall is still too high. This is our personal opinion and everyone will have their own opinion.

While we’re on the subject of prices, it’s also important to mention the cost of booking a carbet. A carbet for up to 10 people costs €120 (including an entrance fee of €17 per person). While I can see the point of booking such a carbet for a birthday or other occasion with a small group of ten or so people, I don’t really see the point of a small group of two or four people hiring such an expensive carbet. There are plenty of places in Guadeloupe where you can get caravets in places that are just as beautiful, if not more so, than here, and all for free. For example, all you have to do is stop in front of some of the places on the Mamelles road, such as the Corossol area that Mélanie and I recently discovered.

Then, if you’re a group of 10, for example, it’s really worth booking a carbet, because you’ll only pay 120 euros instead of 170 (17 x 10). So to sum up, a simple calculation shows that if you’re a group of more than 7 people, it’s better to book a carbet, even if you don’t need one, haha. Even though I have my doubts that all 17 carbets will be in use during your visit and that you’ll have the opportunity, as we did, to settle down under a carbet for free.

And for this price, you won’t even get a grill with coal. That’s another four euros. Frankly, I think it’s really unfair to charge extra for something that we think is already a bit expensive and should be included in the price.
In the end, we discussed it with the people around us and when we shared our experience on Instagram and other social networks, we realised that all the locals were more or less of the same opinion as us: it’s a bit too expensive for what it is.

The aim of this article is not to try to dissuade you from going there. On the contrary, if you look at the reviews on TripAdvisor, for example, you can see that the tourists who have passed through here have found the place really interesting. And I can totally understand why. I’m just saying that in my opinion, and this is my personal opinion, I’m not sure that many locals would agree to rent a carbet at this price.

Again, this is just our opinion!

Here you will find all the information you need for your visit to the Parc de la Source.

Here’s everything you need to know for your visit. This information is up to date at the time of writing, but I suggest you check their website directly in case there are any changes.

Prices

Prices are as follows:

• Adults: €17
• Teenagers aged 13 to 17: €12
• Children aged 6 to 12: €8
• Under 6 years old: free

The Carbet Pass, which allows you to book a carbet for the day, costs €120. Entrance (at the above rates) is included in the €120. You’ll have to pay an extra four euros to use the barbecue and the small bag of charcoal provided. With this pass, a small vehicle will drop you and your belongings off at Le Carbet.

Note that there is a family pass with special rates.

An annual pass is also available for residents at €42.50/adult.

If you have difficulty walking or are simply tired, you can call several points in the park to request a buggy. This service costs two euros per transfer.

Opening hours

The park is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 9.30am to 6pm. The last entrance is between 4pm and 4.30pm, depending on the part of the park you are in.

I’m not going to go into all the details I have written in my article entitled “How to get to Guadeloupe“. You can refer to it for details of how to get here from France, Canada or even abroad.

The only thing I’d like to make clear is that you’ll need to hire a car to get around while you’re staying in Guadeloupe. We recommend that you compare prices on the Discover cars website. We’ve found some great deals there in recent years.
Getting to Parc de la Source depends on where you arrive. The park is located in the commune of Bouillante, on the west coast of Basse-Terre. Here’s a route from Pointe-à-Pitre and another from the town of Basse-Terre.

There are, of course, many ways to discover Guadeloupe’s magnificent leeward coast. Here are a few ideas to occupy your day or week:

• Set out on the Route des Mamelles: there are a number of activities you can do along this route:
• Visit the zoo and botanical gardens: although we’re not big zoo fans, we’ll be writing a short article on the subject,
• Take advantage of the short walks, such as the Mamelle de Pigeon Teat (article coming soon) or the Mamelle de Petit-Bourg ,
• Further afield, discover the famous Cascade des écrevisses, where you can admire a small waterfall by the side of the road without getting tired,
• Don’t forget the Maison de la Forêt, where two discovery trails allow you to explore the rainforest without too much difficulty.
• To the north, enjoy a swim at Saut d’Acomat,
• Don’t miss the magnificent beach of Anse Caraïbes in Pointe Noire or the beaches of Deshaies further north.

In short, there’s plenty of things to do, that’s a guarantee.

Here are some suggestions if you decide to stay in the area.

Small budget

• Les gîtes du domaine de Petite-Anse: A pleasant stay with everything you need on site. The hosts are friendly and attentive. The gîtes are close to the beach. They are quiet and beautifully decorated.
• Le Bananier: A warm welcome from the host and immaculate accommodation. An exceptional address to remember, with hosts who are available, helpful and attentive, offering a welcome snack and quality breakfasts.

Medium Budget

• Gîte Rêve Caraïbes – Le Petit Havre: A true Caribbean paradise! An enchanting setting with exceptional views, magnificent sunsets, an infinity pool and comfortable rooms.
• Ti Kaz a Annick: An exceptional welcome from Annick, with a clean, functional and well-equipped house. The hosts are generous and attentive, offering a welcome snack and delicious meals.
• Gîtes Hôtel Couleur Caraïbes: A quiet and pleasant place with a friendly and helpful staff, a magnificent view and comfortable bungalows. Recommended for a peaceful stay in Guadeloupe.

Larger budget

• Les Galets Rouges Lodges & Spa: An accommodation that offers an exceptional stay with a magnificent view, a relaxing environment, attentive staff and high quality facilities.
• Gîtes Marlyse: This warm, fully-equipped accommodation has everything you could possibly need. It’s simple: everything you need is there, and you can enjoy a magnificent sea view.

I’ll end here. We went for a walk in the Parc de la Source in Bouillante. I hope you have enjoyed this article and our honest opinion on the subject. As I said, it’s just our opinion. It’s still a very pleasant place to discover, especially for tourists or if you want to book a carvery for a birthday party, for example. The setting is lovely, the terrace is great and the waterfall invites children to swim.

If you want to discover another really nice place nearby, you can go to Saut d’Acomat in the commune of Pointe-Noire.

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!

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