Circular Monkey Mountain starting from Kourou

de fr

14 km from Kourou, this hike is well known to locals and tourists alike. Easy to find. Easy to follow. Not too long (advertised as 3 hours at the reception but can be shortened to 1 hour if you are in a hurry). But with a few difficulties: sometimes steep climbs, slippery terrain, which can be quite muddy in places depending on the rain. Allows you to explore the rainforest without the risk of getting lost. Towards the end, it offers an exceptional view stretching from the Guiana Space Centre to Kourou and the Kourou River. Monkeys are rarely seen. But you can see blue butterflies (morphos) and hear and spot sentinel birds.

Details

n°87950289
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–
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.15 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 204 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 198 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 172 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 12 m
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Description of the walk

From Kourou, take the N1 towards Saint-Laurent du Maroni. After a few kilometres, turn left at the sign for "La Montagne des Singes". After 8 km, park in the car park for hikers on Route du Dégrad.

(S/E) Start the hike from the car park; it is well signposted. Pass the Botanical Trail junction and you will soon reach another fork.

(1) Turn left, following the yellow markings. It's hard to get lost: if there is no visible path, turn back to find it. Continue climbing, then descend. Enjoy the vegetation. Look out for morpho butterflies and blue butterflies. Keep an eye out for sentinel birds and monkeys. Cross several footbridges until you reach afourth footbridge .

(2) Cross it, then turn right onto the Sentier des Singes (Monkey Trail). Begin an easy climb, ending at the top of Carbet Acacia.

(3) Continue downhill to reach the Sentier Botanique crossroads.

(4) Here you have two options:
- either turn left to explore this path, reaching the initial crossroads you passed on the way up,
- or continue straight ahead, following the route on the map, down the numerous steps to return to the initial crossroads.

(1) Retrace your steps to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 12 m - Parking: Route du Dégrad
  2. 1 : km 0.34 - alt. 30 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.86 - alt. 35 m - 4th footbridge
  4. 3 : km 3.12 - alt. 165 m - Carbet
  5. 4 : km 3.84 - alt. 56 m - Botanical garden fork
  6. S/E : km 4.15 - alt. 18 m - Parking: Route du Dégrad

Notes

Bring hiking boots. There are a few huts along the way. Bring water and a good camera.
Note: between (S/E) and (1): you can turn right onto a botanical trail (not done) that looks interesting.

Worth a visit

The morphos.
The howler monkeys.
(3) The Acacia Hut: splendid view of the canopy and, in the distance, the Guiana Space Centre, the town of Kourou and the Kourou River.

I'm useless at ornithology, but luckily other walkers knew their stuff and showed us the howler monkey and a whole host of other animals, birds and insects.

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