Riviere Noire
| Rating: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | Raps:5-8, max ↨66ft
Red Tape:Access is Restricted Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Condition Reports: | 10 Jan 2023
"Good flow. Not too high, but very fun. No rangers, no chance of getting caught. All anchors excellent. Not a hard canyon, or a slot, but very pretty. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best season: | Any, AVOID rain
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regions: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16.0418, -61.6745
16.0312, -61.6807
Search nearby locations
Weather forecast
Waterflow
Nearby photos
Introduction
Riviere Noire is a very pretty stream within Guadeloupe National Park. As such, it is illegal, but commonly done by canyoneers. Hide your gear in your pack, cover your pack with a raincover, and make sure no one sees your gear. The trail ends before anything technical, so it's very unlikely any hikers, or rangers, will see you. One group was caught several years ago, and apparently the ranger didn't care and there were no fines or charges. Now you know.
Approach
Park near the pavilions. Make sure there are no rangers around, and it's best to not let other people see your canyoneering gear.
Walk up a good trail that starts behind the pavilions. Follow this for a ways along canals. You'll eventually come to an intersection. Go right. If in doubt, use the GPS track on this page for guidance.
You'll soon reach an impassable waterfall in front of you. Go back just a minute or two. On the other side of the canal is a faint track into the woods, going upstream. There is a red sign on a tree here (as of January 2023) marking the boundary of the national park. Follow this trail along the right-upcanyon bank.
This faint trail will wind upstream, at times walking in the creek. There is a few sections with handlines. There is nothing completely death-defying. You're always immediately along or inside the stream.
At a big waterfall, you'll reach the end of the canyoneering route. Starting here, you will upclimb the banks of the entire descent. There are fixed ropes. In general, the route is fairly easy to follow. This will take probably close to an hour. You've reached the top, and the start of the route, at the intersection with Ravine Marchand, where warmer water flows in with copper-colored rocks. Suit up here!
Descent
From the copper rocks at the start, head downstream! The first rappel is off some trees on left-downcanyon into a pool. The canyon then narrows a bit.
The next rappel is bigger. You'll have to rig an easy traverse line out to the edge, and the a fun sloping rappel into the skirt of a waterfall. This pool is a tropical paradise!
After this is a fun rappel into a strong but mostly safe hydraulic (optional) and then another one which could be harder to escape. Scout carefully before commiting.
From here, you'll quickly reach the centerpiece feature of the canyon - a series of four perfect pools in a slot connected by waterfalls. Don't jump without scouting! Each of these can be rappelled, slid or handlined.
The last two pools are bigger but shallow. Take care if jumping!
There's a small rappel or downclimb from the four pools, and then more swimming.
The canyon continues, with a few more small rappels and downclimbs with surging whitewater! The final rappel is a stunning waterfall that you'll remember from the approach.
It's a good idea to take all your gear off and hide it in you pack here, in preparation for the exit.
Exit
After the last rappel, pack up your things, and retrace your steps back to your vehicle. The exit is the same as the first parts of the approach.
Red tape
This canyon is open to hiking and bushwhacking. However, rappelling is officially prohibited in Guadeloupe National Park. It's unlikely you'll get caught, as canyoneers do this route multiple times per year. Hide your gear, and cover your pack with a rain cover. Now you know.
Beta sites
https://ankanionla-madinina.com/ravine-marchand-riviere-noire/
Trip reports and media
Background
Probably first descended in the 2000s by French canyoneers. Today descended maybe several times a year. It's unclear when rappelling was made illegal in Guadeloupe National Park.
