7 Best Sights in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe

The name means "boiling," and so it's no surprise that hot springs were discovered here. However, the biggest attraction is scuba diving on nearby Pigeon Island, which is accessed by boat from Plage de Malendure. There's a small information kiosk on the beach at Plage de Malendure that can help you with diving and snorkeling arrangements.

Guadeloupean coffee is considered some of the best in the world. Joel Nelson will tell you all about it if you take one of his tours around the grounds of his estate, perched 1,200 feet above sea level. Dress comfortably, as you will be going into the bush to pick vanilla and coffee beans from the trees. Nelson's enthusiasm and passion for what he grows and produces makes what could be a ho-hum walk through the woods a pleasurable learning experience. After some 30 minutes or more, you will be brought back to the stone cottage that is the Habitation Sucrerie for a coffee tasting and fresh tropical fruits. You might want to buy a bag or two of coffee or some of the precious vanilla beans and vanilla powder. Also on the estate, there are simple gîtes (cottages) for two to four persons. Tours are in the afternoon, two tours a day from January through April and one tour a day from May through December.

Two tiny, rocky islands a few hundred yards off the coast are part of the Jacques Cousteau Underwater Park and Guadeloupe's best scuba and snorkeling site. Although the reefs here are good, they don't rank among the top Caribbean dive spots. Several companies conduct diving trips to the reserve, and it's on the itinerary of some sailing and snorkeling trips.

This exquisite 10-acre park is filled with parrots and flamingoes. A circuitous walking trail takes you by ponds with floating lily pads, cactus gardens, and every kind of tropical flower and plant— including orchids galore. Amid the exotic ferns and gnarled, ancient trees are little wooden bridges and a gazebo. A panoramic restaurant with a surprisingly sophisticated lunch menu, plus a snack bar, are housed in terraced gingerbread building: one overlooks the park's waterfall, the other, the mountains. The garden has a children's park and nature-oriented playthings in the shop. A local juice and a snack is included with admission. This excursion is delightful and serene, ideal on an overcast day.

You can reach the first two of the Carbet Falls (the first drops from 65 feet, the second from 360 feet) via a long, steep, marked trail from the village of Habituée. The third and highest waterfall (drops from 410 feet) has been closed since 2008 due to a landslide at the site. On the way up the trail, you pass Grand Étang (Great Pond), a volcanic lake surrounded by interesting plant life. For those who are fans of The Walking Dead, there's also the curiously named Étang Zombi, a pond believed to house evil spirits. If there have been heavy rains, don't even think about going here!

Two mountain peaks—Mamelle de Petit-Bourg, 2,350 feet, and Mamelle de Pigeon, 2,500 feet—rise in the Parc National de la Guadeloupe. Mamelle means "breast"; and when you see the mountains, you'll understand how they got their name. Trails ranging from easy to arduous lace up into the surrounding mountains. There's a glorious view from a lookout point 1,969 feet up Mamelle de Pigeon. If you're a climber, plan to spend several hours exploring this area. If there have been heavy rainfalls, cancel your plans.

From the riverfront Musée du Café/Café Chaulet, dedicated to the art of coffee making, the tantalizing aroma of freshly ground beans reaches out to the highway. Plaques and photos illustrate the island's coffee history. You will learn that coffee was once Guadeloupe's principal crop and that Chaulets have been planters and exporters since 1900. The shop sells excellent arabica coffee, rum punches, Schrubb (an orange liqueur), hot sauces, sachets of spices, bay-rum lotion, marmalades, and jewelry made from natural materials. Cocoa beans are also grown here. The "resident" chocolate maker, a young Frenchwoman, also crafts bonbons and festive holiday candies with lots of dark chocolate and tropical fruit from the island. You will even see the coffee cars—emblazoned Volkswagen Beetles. The Chaulet family respects traditional procedures while bowing to modernity. Their latest product is coffee capsules.