French Guiana - Useful information for your trip

French Guiana is a country in South America, and a French overseas department with Cayenne as a capital city. It is lapped north by the Atlantic Ocean and its territory is divided into two distinct areas, a narrow northern coastal strip, called "terres basses", consisting of an indoor flood plain mostly made up of savanna and wetlands, and an inner part called "terres hautes" which includes a part of the massif of Guyana, hills and small mountains, especially in the south with Tumuk Humak mountains.

The highest peak of the French Guiana is Bellevue de l'Inini (851 m), while a short distance from the coast are small islands almost all uninhabited, divided in the group pf the Îles du Salut, the group of the Iles du Connétable, the group of Îlets de Rémire and some other smaller islands. The heavy rainfall that characterize the region has led to the formation of many rivers, marshes and streams. Major rivers include the Maroni, the Oyapock, the Approuague and Mana. The largest lake is the reservoir of Petit-Saut.

The climate is equatorial, being French Guiana virtually the Equator. There are four seasons that can be distinguished: the "big" rainy season, from late April to mid-August, the "great" dry season, from mid-August to November, the "small" rainy season, from late November to February and the "small" dry season in March.

French Guiana is internally home to one of the most important and largest primary Amazon forest portions, with a rich biodiversity. In addition to the tropical rain forest, here you also find many other tropical habitats: coastal mangrove forests, savanna, wetlands and monadnock.

There are about 5500 species of plants, 684 species of birds, over 500 species of fish, 177 species of mammals, 109 species of amphibians. The beaches to the north-west of the country are some of the most important leatherback turtle nesting sites. Environmental protection is entrusted to a national park, the Amazonian Park of French Guyana, and six nature reserves.

The economy of French Guiana is developing. The primary sector sees agriculture engaged in cane sugar production especially for the local distillery, while rice cultivation is concentrated in the Mana polder area. The exploitation of forest resources is one of the main resources of French Guyana. Also important is the mining sector. Tourism is underdeveloped, French Guiana is in fact still outside the circuit of mass tourism, although in recent years it has tried to enhance, for example, Îles du Salut and the creation of protected areas to attract ecotourism.

Finally, the Guyanese transport system is still quite backward and concentrated in the coastal area, while municipalities in the interiors are often difficult to reach.