Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes, Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin)

The largest French West Indian island, GUADELOUPE encompasses a massive 1704 square kilometres, the majority of which is taken up by its two adjoining mainland islands, Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, whose outline resembles a greenbacked butterfly in flight. Its two "wings" have entirely different personas and equally misrepresentative names: the western Basse-Terre , or "low-land", is anything but, given its central core is dominated by mountain ranges, including the Lesser Antilles' highest peak, La Soufrière . These surround the island's bountiful rainforest and descend to meet twinkling black-sand beaches like Plage Malendure that extend to protected underwater dive sites abounding with aqualife.

The eastern "wing", the furled Grande-Terre , or "large-land", is slightly smaller than Basse-Terre, utterly flat by contrast, and predominantly rural. Most of the action happens along its southern coast, where one white-sand beach after another seems to merge endlessly along the coast, with the stunning Plage Caravelle forming the centrepiece. Its outer reaches are pounded by the savage Atlantic Ocean to produce jagged limestone outcroppings like the windswept Pointe-des-Châteaux , and the exquisite Lagon de la Porte d'Enfer natural swimming pool.

Guadeloupe's offshore islands are equally diverse. Marie-Galante , with its rural landscape of sugarcane, hearkens back to a Guadeloupe of thirty years ago, while La Désirade , the most desolate of the lot, is quite possibly the Caribbean's least developed island. The most visited-offshore isle, tiny Terre-de-Haut , is the prettiest of all, with quaint architecture and fabulous bays and beaches.

Best of Guadeloupe

Parc National de la Guadeloupe
Hike to thundering waterfalls, ascend cloud-capped mountain peaks, and go deep into a humid jungle at this outstanding reserve.

Plage Malendure
The Caribbean depths around this black-sand beach hold a world of technicolour fish, sponges and coral.

Pointe-à-Pitre's markets
Haggle over spices and handicrafts at Pointe-à-Pitre's animated outdoor markets.

Terre-de-Haut
Make a day trip to picturesque Terre-de-Haut island, full of attractive Breton architecture and fringed by lovely white-sand beaches.