Île Royale
Lighthouse and museum.
Sophie Fuggle, Claire Reddleman, Ayshka Sene — CC BY 4.0 · Sophie Fuggle, Claire Reddleman, Ayshka Sene — CC BY 4.0 · Sophie Fuggle, Claire Reddleman, Ayshka Sene — CC BY 4.0 · Sophie Fuggle, Claire Reddleman, Ayshka Sene — CC BY 4.0
The Îles du Salut, the Salvation Islands, are a group of three small islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic, about 14 km off the coast of Kourou in French Guiana and some 16 km in a straight line north-east of the town. Their name is said to come from missionaries who took refuge there from an epidemic on the mainland. The three islands are Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph and Devil's Island; the last is off-limits because of strong currents around it, so visitors go only to the other two. From 1852 the islands were part of a notorious French penal colony, and the remains of its stone buildings still stand among the trees. Today dense tropical forest and coconut palms cover the islands, home to monkeys, agoutis, colourful birds and turtles, with a red lighthouse on top of Île Royale. The French space agency owns the islands because they lie under the flight path of rockets launched from Kourou, so they sometimes close on launch days. They are reached by paid boats or excursion vessels from Kourou in about an hour. Île Royale has a small museum, an inn and a restaurant; bring water and sun cream, and check launch dates before booking.
Lighthouse and museum.
Monkeys and birds.
Stone among the trees.
Off Kourou, French Guiana
No, it is off-limits because of the currents.
By boat from Kourou in about an hour.