Les Hattes beach
Les Hattes Beach is a long sandy beach on the north coast of French Guiana, in the commune of Awala-Yalimapo. It is primarily known not as a beach resort, but as a “maternity home” for leatherback turtles. This is where these giant sea reptiles come to lay eggs and bring their offspring to the world.
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Beach description
The coast of Les Hattes Beach stretches for almost 5 km and is covered with light but not always clean sand. If you come to this beach between April and July, you can see huge reptiles crawling out of the water on the coast and settling on it, burying themselves in the sand. The show is spectacular, given the size of these turtles (often weighing up to 600 kg). From July to September you can admire a different picture – turtles hatched from eggs, trying to leave the land and go to their first swim.
Thousands of turtles, both leatherback and green sea ones, are born every year on the beach of Les Hattes Beach. Near the coast you can visit a small local museum with exhibitions dedicated to these reptiles. There are no amenities on the beach itself, as its territory is protected due to turtle nesting. You can bring a towel and sit in the shade of the palms growing on the coast to admire the turtles on the shore.
When is the best time to go?
Guiana is located next to the Amazonian forests, where it rains in January and February. They return from mid-April to July. So the best time to visit this overseas department of France is all the other months.