Hike Martinique – Trail Info, Guides and Tour Operators
Probably in the “Top 3” of best islands for Caribbean hiking, Martinique offers a variety of nice relaxing walks as well as some very challenging, mountainous (volcano) hikes. Martinique is a unique Caribbean island, and that holds true for its hiking trails as well – The island has more than three dozen trails, most of which are well-marked and maintained. Hiking is a great way to explore the natural beauty of the island, and many Martinique hiking trails provide amazing panoramic views of the island and the Caribbean Sea from hill-top look-outs or coastal trails.
Most of Martinique’s hiking trails are located in the northern half of the island, where half a dozen peaks are more than 2,300 feet (700m) above sea level – The largest being the iconic ‘Montagne Pelee’ at a height of 4,583 feet (1,397m) tall. Just south of this towering volcano, the area has a number of other tall peaks of interest. These include Piton Lacroix at 3,870 feet (1180m); Morne Piquet at 3,691 feet (1125m) and Piton de l’ Alma at 3543 feet (1080m).
The iconic Montagne (Mount) Pelee has four main routes to hike to reach the top of the semi-active volcano:
(When not shrouded in mist and fog, this peak provides the most amazing views of the island)
- Morne Macouba Trail – From Chateaux a Desiles
- Difficult: 7-9 hours, 5 miles (8m) (return) with a 3,120 foot (950m) vertical
- Trail through a banana plantation and farmland, as well as past a Chateaux and ravine.
- Grand Riviere Trail – From Beausejour
- Difficult: 5-7 hours, 5 miles (7.5km) (return) with a 3,839 foot (1,170m) vertical
- Trail through banana and sugar cane fields as well as rain-forest
- Grande Savane Trail – From Le Precheur
- Intermediate/Difficult: 3-5 hours, 2.5 miles (>4km) (return) with a 1,542 foot (470m) vertical
- Nestled among the mountain peaks of Morne Plume and Piton Marcel, this trail offers great views of Saint-Pierre
- L’aileron Trail – 5km north of Le Morne Rouge
- Intermediate/Difficult: 4.5–6.5 hours, 4 miles (>7km) (return) with a 2,000 foot (600m) vertical
- Popular and diverse trail with great views of Le Morne Rouge, L’Ajoupa-Bouillon and the Atlantic Ocean
- For a colourful, first-hand account of this trail hike, check out our Mount Pelée – L’aileron Trail blog post
- An extended version of this trail starts west of L’Ajoupa-Bouillon, adding distance (through farmers’ fields), time, and vertical to the hike…
The best Martinique hiking trails along the north/west coast of the island include:
- Grand Riviere to Anse Levrier / Anse Couleuvre (Beaches)
- Intermediate/Difficult: 6 hours, 11 miles (18km) (return) with 2560 feet (780m) vertical change
- Popular hilly coastal hike with spectacular views of the Caribbean sea and Montagne Pelee
- Cascade Couleuvre (in the Conservatoire du Littoral)
- Easy / Intermediate: 2 hours, 2.5 miles (4km) (return) with a 755 feet (230m) vertical
- Starting at the Anse Couleuvre (Beach), this trail follows/crosses a river through a forest to a 20-metre high waterfall. A restored sugar refinery is also in the area.
- For a more colourful, first-hand account of hiking this trail, check out our Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre Trail blog post
The best Martinique hiking trails in the Parc Naturel Regional De La Martinique include:
(inland from the east coast towns of Le Marigot and Saint-Marie)
- Crete du Cournan (Easy)
- Carabin to Morne Jacob (Difficult)
- Circuit de Sainte-Cecile Loop Trail (Difficult)
- Les Gorges de la Falaise (Easy/Intermediate)
- Trace des Jesuites (Easy)
- Reculee au Morne Bellevue (Easy/Intermediate)
- Perou to Morne de L’Etang (Easy)
For more details about the above trails, please refer to our Martinique Hiking – Parc Naturel Regional De La Martinique page
The best Martinique hiking trails in the Pitons du Carbet regions include:
(inland from the west coast towns of Le Carbet, Bellefontaine and Case-Pilote):
- Canal de Beauregard (Slave Canal) (Easy)
- Caplet to Fonds-St-Denis (Easy)
- Piton Lacroix (Difficult)
- Morne Rose to Saint Cyr (Easy)
- Demarche to Plateau Concorde (Easy)
- Circuit de Rabuchon Loop Trail (and variants) (Easy/Intermediate)
- Circuit d’Absalon Loop Trail (Easy)
- An ba so (Easy)
For more details about the above trails, please refer to our Martinique Hiking – Pitons du Carbet page
The best Martinique hiking trails along the East Coast of the island include:
- Sentier Littoral Nord Atlantique
- There are multiple sections of this 28-mile (45km) coastal trail to hike, from Basse-Pointe to Le Robert.
- Circuit de Pointe Rouge Loop Trail
- Easy: 2 hours, 2 miles (3km) (one way) with little change in elevation
- Educational trail passes the town of Tartane and features signage, gum trees and a section of beach on the Atlantic Ocean.
- Circuit de la Caravelle Loop Trail
- Intermediate: 2-4 hours, 5 miles (8km) loop with 650 feet (200m) in elevation change
- Located in the Presqu’Île de la Caravelle Nature Reserve with amazing views of the island and Atlantic Ocean
- For a more colourful review, check out our personal hiking experience with our Circuit-de-la Caravelle Trail blog post
- Boucle de la Pointe du Vauclin Loop Trail
- Easy: 1-2 hours, 4 miles (6km) loop with little change in elevation
- Nice variety of flora is found on this trail
The best Martinique hiking trails at the South End of the island include:
- Morne Champagne – Anses d’Arlet (Easy)
- Morne Larcher (Intermediate)
- Taupiniere to La Cherry (Easy)
- Piton Creve-Coeur (Easy)
- Trace des Caps
- Ilet Chevalier (Lizard Island) Loop Trail (Easy)
- Foret Vatable – Les Trois Ilets (Easy)
- Morne Gommier (Easy)
For more details about the above trails, please refer to our Martinique Hiking – South End page
If you’re looking to backpack Martinique…There are a couple of coastal trails worth exploring:
- Sentier Littoral Nord Atlantique – A 28-mile (45km) long hike along the northeast coast of Martinique from Basse pointe to Le Robert. Estimated to take 10 hours one way.
- Trace des Caps – A 21-mile (34km) long hike along the southeast point of Martinique from Macabou (south of Le Vauclin) to Ste-Anne. Estimated to take 7 hours one-way.
To hike the trails of Martinique, these local Tour Operators / Hiking Guides will take good care of you:
(Click on a Tour Operator below for more details):
- Hike La Caravelle Peninsula
- Hike at the Salines – Savanna of petrifactions
- Hike the Caravelle peninsula
- Hike and Kayak Combo with lunch
- Full-day Mount Pelée ascent
- Full-day discover the wild Atlantic Coast hike
- Full-day tropical rainforest hike from Absalon to the “Fontaine Didier” waterfall
- Full-day hike along the coast and through the forest from Le Prêcheur to Grand-Rivère
- Full-day Rainforest, Beach, and Waterfalls hike
- Half-day hike along La Caravelle peninsula
- Half-day Canal de Beauregard hike from Le Carbet
- Half-day hike to beach and savannah
- Half-day hike in the Caribbean rainforest
- Gorges de la Falaise ‘river hike’
- Savane des Pétrifications hike
- Pointe Rouge hike
- Morne Larcher hike
- Presqu’île de la Caravelle hike
- Martinique hike – TBD?
- Martinique hike – TBD?
More Coming Soon…
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