List of described attractions by arrondissements
Ffrench Guiana is an overseas region of France. It is divided into 2 arrondissements.
| Cayenne | ||
 | Iracoubou St. Joseph Church | Churches |
| Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni | ||
French Guiana - map
Wikipedia article about French Guiana
Featured:
Iracoubou St. Joseph Church
Interior of Iracoubou church.
Spooky, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.
From the outside the St. Josephs Church in Iracoubou village looks simple and unpretentious. But this simplicity is deceiving - the frescoes inside represent a true masterpiece of naïve art.
Even more surprising is the fact that this 600 m² large artwork was made by a prisoner - burglar.
Main attractions
Launch of Ariane 5, Kourou.
Douglasfugazi, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
French Guiana is an overseas region and overseas department of France.
This country is mostly covered with tropical rainforest and major part of it is taken the 33,900 km² large Guiana Amazonian Park.
Climate in this lowland rainforest is humid and very hot - thus French Guiana has lots of known (and yet unknown) values of biological diversity, but not thyat many man made landmarks. This remote country has been used as a prison in 19th and 20th centuries but now here is located one of the main cosmoports of the world.
Natural landmarks
Sight from Nouragues Inselberg.
Thibaud Syre, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
- Nouragues Inselberg - Cayenne. In the middle of equatorial lowland rainforest rises a granite hill (411 m above the sea level). It is covered with specific, dry, low forest rich and rock savanna, rich with rare and endemic species. Equatorial Sun heats the rock up to 75° C hot. In French Guiana are known more than 100 such inselbergs.
- Savane-Roche la Virginie - Cayenne. Granite inselberg with barren summit. Extremely rich with bromieliad species, some of these might be endemic to this mountain.
- Voltaire Falls - Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. Comparatively low but picturesque waterfall.
Les Roches Gravées of Mount Carapa, Kourou.
Philipp Weigell, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
Petroglyphs
Here and there throughout the country are found petroglyphs, most likely made several thousand years ago.
- Fawara Mountain petroglyphs near Kaw - Cayenne. A cliff covered with intricate petroglyphs. Among the many abstract drawings seen a drawing of snake.
- Les Roches Gravées of Mount Carapa - Cayenne, Kourou. Group of petroglyphs in the industrial suburb of Kourou.
- Les Roches Gravées at Pavée stream - Cayenne, Rémire-Montjoly. Group of prehistoric petroglyphs.
- Petroglyphs of Maroni River - Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Maripasoula. Rocks, covered with prehistoric engravings.
Architecture and history monuments
Île du Diable.
Ronan Follic, Flickr / CC BY 2.0
- Cayenne historical centre - Cayenne. The city was established in 1664 and the ruins of Fort Cépérou from this time still are visible but most of the colonial style buildings are from 19th - early 20th century. Many buildings are renovated, thus returning a charm to the city.
- Guiana Space Centre – Cayenne. One of the busiest and technically most convenient and advanced space centres in the world. Built in 1968 and used jointly by France and the European Space Agency.
- Île du Diable, Île Sain-Joseph and Île Royale - Cayenne. Former French penal colony. A fortress was built here in 1793 and soon here arrived the first political convicts. Used as a prison until 1947. On Île Royale were located administration and hospital, Île du Diable - for political enemies and spies and Île Sain-Joseph - for dangerous criminals. There were other prisons in French Guiana, in the middle of forest. These prisons were even more deadly.
- Iracoubou St. Joseph Church - Cayenne. This church was built by villagers in 1893. Interior of the church is beautiful - covered with 600 m² large, naive frescoes, painted by the convict Pierre Huguet.
6 March 2012 Gatis Pāvils
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