Habitation La Grivelière — Attraction in Basse-Terre

This is one of THE most outstanding and extraordinary places for those lucky enough to be able to visit the island of Guadeloupe. The massive investment and work undertaken to restore all the original equipment such as the water mill for the electricity needs of the coffee processing and the original drying beds under the Manor House has earned La Griveliere status of World Cultural Heritage and it is much deserved. As of this writing La Griveliere is the OLDEST coffee farm in the world and can trace continuous coffee cultivation on the grounds all the way back to the 1730-1740s and I cannot recommend a visit here enough, it's simply a mindblowing experience and for true coffee lovers it's better than Disney land for coffee aficionados. The facility will be closed for the general public in 2019 as the plantation undertakes major renovation work following the extensive damage from Hurricane Maria (late 2017) but write the management and ask for the possibility of a...

accessible only via guided tour in French, worth visiting to learn about locally-cultivated food plants and see how coffee was processed before electricity. You can get lunch there made with garden produce, which we should have done (we took the first tour of the day and didn't expect it would last as long as it did, until 1130 or so), and every tour ends with a sample of the local brew. You can get a bag of beans in the gift shop as well as local chocolate and honey. Good bathrooms which you probably will need after that coffee. If you visit, note that the drive up is pretty hairy (our car stalled out). There are some hiking trails that start from the plantation parking lot taking you into the jungle where you can see some waterfalls, but most are pretty difficult and long (the plantation staff suggested using a...

Un grand merci au responsable d'avoir permis de monter ma voiture au sein de l'habitation pour une personne à mobilité réduite. Maintenant, il ne reste plus qu'un chemin d'accès pour circuler librement. C'est en cours. ...mais Yannick, la guide a su royalement palier à ce manque. L'histoire de l'esclavage est encore douloureuse puisqu'aujourd'hui, très peu de personnes se livrent à la cueillette du café , tâche ardue et ingrate. La visite s'est faite presqu' en privé car nous étions 5 soit 2 familles , gage de qualité. Yannick a été remarquable et disponible tout le long de notre parcours. C'est un lieu inédit où les esclavagistes ont ruiné la vie de nos ancêtres. Il est temps, au peuple Guadeloupéen, de s'accaparer cet endroit magnifique et de valoriser le travail qui a été accompli par la sueur de nos descendants depuis la traite négrière. N'hésitez pas à vous engouffrer dans ce joyau tropical afin de ressentir les silences du passé. Fos' à...