Moulin de Poyen loop

7 points of interest

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  Agricultural landscape

  Sugar cane fields

  Sugar cane is a grass, whose stem is used to make sugar and rum; the foliage serves as cattle fodder.
  Cane has marked the history and landscape of the Guadeloupe since the fifteenth century, the time when it would have begun to be planted. In the north Grande-Terre, crops were centred around the site of Beauport.

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  Area of relaxation

  Picnic table

  Not far from the carbet (shelter), a picnic table is available to walkers for a break.

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  Information board

  Bloodwood tree

  The bloodwood tree (Haematoxylum campechianum) can reach 15 metres in height. Typical of the dry rainforest in the Caribbean, it is distinguished by its very dark, hard wood and its dark red sap. You can obtain a tincture of its wood; the tree was also often used to make charcoal. Its nectar-laden flowers are appreciated by beekeepers.

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  Information board

  Mahogany

  Panels explain the history of these trees in Guadeloupe.
  Here are two trees of the dry rainforest: the big leaf mahogany and the small leaf mahogany.

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  Fauna

  'Pipirit'

  The grey tyrant flycatcher is recognisable by its gray plumage clear and its impressive beak.
  The bird measures approximately 25 cm, and feeds mainly on insects.
  Known locally as the pipirit, this bird is known for its morning song, and has led to the Creole expression 'O Pipirit chantant' which means 'very early'.

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  Cultural and architectural heritage

  Poyen mill

  Located on the site of the former Beauport sugar factory, Poyen Mill is one of the sugar houses seen in Grande-Terre up until the beginning of the nineteenth century.
  These windmills were used to crush the sugarcane stems to extract the juice (vésou), used in the manufacture of sugar and of rhum agricole (cane juice rum).

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  Viewpoint

  Beautiful countryside

  Viewpoint over the Basse-Terre mountain range, of which you can see the peaks.