The Jesuit Trail

de fr

A short hike through the tropical rainforest and its lush vegetation. Halfway along, on the banks of the Rivière des Lorrains, a complete change of scenery is guaranteed!

Details

n°92665
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.70 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 327 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 445 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 665 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 298 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Le Marigot (97225)
  • ⚑
    Start: N 14.731074° / W 61.077517°
  • ⚑
    End: N 14.739105° / W 61.100777°
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Photos

Piton Gelé
Panorama
Footbridge
Piton Gelé

Description of the walk

The hike starts at the foot of Morne du Lorrain, along the D1 road, which connects Fonds-Saint-Denis and Gros-Morne (information sign on site).

(S) The trail starts to the right of the road when coming from Gros-Morne. Take this trail, which starts with a few wooden steps and then becomes a simple path through the forest. There is only one trail, which descends quite steeply, generally heading northwest. In the very last part of the descent, follow a stream on your left. This will take you to the Lorrain River.

(1) At the Lorrain River, turn left and wade across the streams. Do not take the path to the north that climbs up to Morne Jacob, but head west instead. The path climbs steeply, with a few switchbacks, to an altitude of about 550 metres.

(2) From this point, the slope becomes gentler and the path turns south-west, running below the Route de la Trace, which is easy to reach and is the end point of this hike (E).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 665 m - Route D1
  2. 1 : km 2.24 - alt. 304 m - Lorraine River
  3. 2 : km 3.92 - alt. 559 m - Below the Route de la Trace
  4. E : km 4.7 - alt. 552 m - Route de la Trace

Notes

After a long period of rain, the trail is very muddy and slippery: this hike should be done during the dry months of the year (Lent).

There is no drinking water source: bring enough water with you. There is no need to bring a lot of sunscreen: the hike is short and takes place entirely in the forest. Instead, bring rain gear and walking shoes (or at least trainers).

Find out about the trigonocéphale snake.

This hike is linear. You will need to leave one vehicle at the starting point and another at the end point, along the Trace tourist road that connects Fort-de-France and Morne-Rouge. With a single vehicle, it is possible to drive down to point (1) from the D1 or the Route de la Trace and then retrace your steps.

The author completed this hike twice, the first time on 11 September 1983 and the second on 15 December 1983.

Worth a visit

The route runs through the heart of the tropical rainforest, with its lush and diverse vegetation.

At the bottom of the descent, the Rivière des Lorrains provides a very pleasant feeling of calm and a change of scenery. It is a good place to stop for a break or a picnic. You can take the opportunity to dip your feet in the water.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 9 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
pierre PVO
pierre PVO

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike is marked as a one-way trip, but this requires two vehicles, so we decided to do it as a round trip. We started from the car park on the N3, which has much more space than the one on the D1. The previous days had been a little rainy, so the path was muddy in places but manageable. However, you need good walking shoes and should avoid open sandals as there are some fairly steep technical sections. The technical data sheet specifies a medium level of difficulty, but I would put it a notch higher as the significant erosion makes some passages difficult and you have to help some people get through. We did the round trip in 6½ hours, spending some time at the footbridge to have a picnic and cool off in the river. The vegetation is as lush as ever and the trail is well marked, so there is no risk of getting lost. Near the river, the current route is slightly different from the original Visorando route, but there is no risk of confusion.
We really enjoyed this hike.
The distance on the signs and in some guidebooks differs, but I got the same distance as the Visorando guidebook, which is 4.7 km one way.

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Laumaen
Laumaen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Trail with lush, colourful vegetation.
Good shoes with sturdy soles are recommended if the weather has been rainy.
The ford has been replaced by a very pretty suspension bridge!
You can make a round trip by going to the river, for example, or continue to the end if you have arranged for a second car.

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EJP
EJP

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Starting from the arrival point, at the car park on the Trace "N3" road.
I followed the Jesuit trail down to the little Lorrain river.

The path is wide and very well maintained, with wooden steps installed on the slippery descents.
It's impossible to get lost in such dense vegetation.
When I reached the river halfway along the route, I turned back to climb back up to the car park.

It was a very pleasant discovery of the rainforest, coming from mainland France.

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remydou
remydou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Under incessant rain for 45 minutes, and in the mud, a very pleasant moment hiking on this exceptional route in the tropical forest. Magnificent.

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Laumae2614
Laumae2614

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very nice, shame it's not circular
You have to turn back if you don't have two cars.
Great diversity of tropical flora.

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Netra
Netra ★

Hello visorandomc, and thank you for your comments!

The hike is classified as "Moderate", which is a good compromise between your two assessments based on age.

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visorandomc
visorandomc

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Easy for young people, difficult for old people!

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francklandais
francklandais

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

freshness guaranteed

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Jo92500
Jo92500

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Good evening,
The D1 road is open again. To park on the D1, no more than two spaces are available at the hiking sign. There are several trees blocking the path, which you will need to go around when leaving the trail or climb over by scaling the branches.
See you soon!

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Netra
Netra ★

Thank you, DEJO, for this feedback and the information about changes in the field. I will include them in the description.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.