Gouffre Tarissan
Sulphurous steam.
Yannick Walrave — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miebner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Thierry Vilmus — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anthony SIMONET — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Thierry Vilmus — CC BY-SA 4.0
La Soufrière is an active volcano in the south of Basse-Terre island in Guadeloupe, within Guadeloupe National Park, about 8 km in a straight line north-east of the town of Basse-Terre. Its summit reaches 1,467 m, the highest point in Guadeloupe and in the whole of the Lesser Antilles, and islanders call it «the old lady». The summit is a lava dome shaped like a truncated cone, with no single crater but several fissures and pits venting sulphurous steam, the best known being the Gouffre Tarissan. Its last eruption, in 1976, was a steam-driven one that led to some 73,000 people being evacuated from the south of the island for three and a half months, with no deaths recorded. The climb usually starts at the Bains Jaunes car park, near a warm-water pool, where a stone-paved trail climbs through rainforest and then mountain scrub to the summit plateau in about two hours. The top is often cool and misty, and rainfall there can reach 12,000 mm a year. The climb is free. Parts of the summit are closed because of volcanic gases, so follow the signs and check the national park's notices; start early before cloud covers the top, and bring a rain jacket.
Sulphurous steam.
Along the trail.
Warm-water pool.
Saint-Claude, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Yes, but parts of it are closed because of gases.
About two hours from the Bains Jaunes car park.
