Let's Visit
Cap-Haitien
 Cap
Haitien, one of the oldest Haitian cities, is located
in the northern section of the country. Le Cap, as it
is also called was founded in 1670. During french colonial
times, Cap Haitien was called Cap Francais by the French
and was the capital of the colony of St. Domingue. The
biggest commercial port was located in Cap Haitien.
At least twice, Cap-Haitien would be used as the capital
of Haiti.
Cap-haitien is now the second largest city of the country.
Thanks to its historic and economic importance the city
is viewed very highly. Its marvelous sites such as the
historic fortresses, its beaches welcomed great numbers
of tourists weekly when tourism was high in Haiti up
into the mid 80s. Although the city had suffered great
destruction in 1734, 1798, 1802 and 1842 (the 1842 earthquake
killed half the population and destroyed Sans Souci
palace), in
some ways it still manages to provide to the visitor
the feeling of a french colonial city à la New
Orleans or in the mold of Jacmel.
Excursions from Cap Haitien
La Citadelle Laferriere
In the days after the independence, preparing against
a retour en force of the French was in everyone's minds.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines had asked all the regional leaders
to build forts across the country in preparation. The
Laferriere Citadel was built by King Henri Christophe
between 1805 and 1820. It covers 10,000 square meters
with walls up to 40 meters high. It is said that 20,000
people were pressed into its construction. La Citadelle
is perched atop the Bonnet a L’Eveque (900m altitude)
overlooking the Plaine du Nord .
The views offered by La Citadelle are very impressive
and breathtaking. Cuba can be spotted on a clear day.
King Henri Christophe, the royal family and its garrison
of 5,000 soldiers could have held out for a year against
a possible French return. But the French never did return
(at least, not with an armada) and the fortress lies
in eternal wait with the cannonballs still pilled up
intact. The two-century-old fortress has been under
restorations for years and a beautiful job was done.
While at La Citadelle do not forget to visit the adjacent
fort of the Site des Ramiers which control
the near access. It also provides an exquisite view
of the .
Sans Souci
Sans Souci was King Henri Christophe’s royal palace. Sans
Souci was the administrative capital and is located in
the town of Milot just down the mountain from the Citadelle
Laferrierre. It ranges over eight hectares in the foothills.
The construction of Sans Souci Palace started in 1810
and ended in 1813. Sans Souci was ruined by the earthquake
that destroyed Cap Haitien in 1842. Sans Souci Palace
also includes a printing shop, garment factories, a hospital,
schools, a distillery chapel and military barracks.
Getting there:
-By car-
Take the road south from the Cap to Milot. From Milot,
you can drive and park your car about two thirds of the
way up. Then be prepared for a steep 5 kilometers hike
up to the fortress. We suggest that you wear comfortable
shoes and start your day early to avoid the mid day heat
up on the road. In order to reach to the Citadelle, you
must first walk through the Sans Souci Palace . We suggest
that you hire a guide and make sure that you agree on
a price in advance. Be ready for some of the most fascinating
history a touch of the typical exaggeration of the facts.
Make your way up there more interesting by enjoying our
tropical fruits such as mangoes, watermelon, coconuts
etc...
You can also take a taptap to Milot which leaves Cap
in the morning. Hotel Mont Joli hotel offer tours as
well. Start climbing before noon to make it back before
sundown.
The Beaches
Some excellent beaches while in the neighborhood are Cormier
Plage, Labadie or Coco Beach , Belli Beach and Rival Beach
and more are on that coast. Those beaches are on the north
side of the cape and can be reached in about 20 minutes
by car. They all provide excellent food, clean beaches,
opportunity to go kayaking, sailboating, banana boating
and more. At Hotel Cormier Plage, you can rent a simple
chalet or a room in the main building and enjoy swimming,
scubadiving. We strongly recommend that you make reservations
as it gets very busy at times. If you walk for about 30
minutes or drive 5 minutes further west you will find
Labadie or Coco Beach. Labadie welcomes tourists from
Royal Caribbean on Monday and Tuesday. On other days,
it opens to the public. Belli Beach is just another half
an hour walking . There is a hotel, with very nice rooms
and good food. There are boats available for rent that
can be used to visit nearby villages.
Other suggestions
Shopping
Before you leave Cap Haitien do not forget to take some
souvenirs with you. You can do that by stopping at the
Atelier Taggart and the Galerie Des Trois Visages among
others. Those places offer all kinds of handicrafts and
naive paintings.
Other places
While you are in the north, you might want to visit
the following sites for their historical past. At Morne
Rouge in the southwest of Cap, is the Habitation De
Mezy. That habitation is important in the Haitian history
because of the many slave rebellion that originated
from there. The ruin of the former plantation include
two aqueducts and bits of walls. Vaudou ceremonies are
held under a tree in the village.
Among the rebel of the habitation was a man named Mackandal,
an african slave from Guinea. He became a charismatic
houngan (vaudou priest) and led a band of runaway slaves
in revolt. He raid the cap in the middle of the 18th
century, killing, poisoning the goods and drinking water
of the french colonists. In Morne Rouge, you will also
encouter Bois Caiman. In those woods, it is agreed that
the Haitian revolution started. The leader of the revolution
at this point was another slavecalled Boukman. Nothing
much is left of the Bois Caiman trees.
Plaine du Nord:
At 12 kilometers southwest of cap the town of plaine du
Nord is a pilgrimage center every year on 24-25 of July.
On these days the catholic festival of St James is celebrated
and is identified in vaudou as the lwa or spirit Ogoun.
On this day vaudou societies from all over the country
emigrate to the city spending two dayss in non-stop drumming
and dancing. Many are possessed by the lwas and dance
in a mud pool in the city.
On 26th of July the feast of St Anne is celebrated
in the plaine du nord and the vaudou societies which
were in the city move to limonade at 15 kilometers southeast
of cap. On the northwest of limonade, a dirt road leads
to bord de mer de limonade, a fishing village where
Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria sank on Christmas
day 1492. Columbus built the fort navidad with the remnants
of the Santa Maria. Nothing can be seen from the fort
now but relies can be seen at the museum in Linbe, 20
km southwest of Cap.
Fort Liberté
56 km east of Le Cap is the picturesque town of Fort Lliberte.
It is dotted with french forts that can be reached by
boat. The best is Fort Dauphin built in 1732. The bay
was the site of the Caribbean’s largest sisal plantation.
Sisal was an important textile crop until nylon was invented.
How to get there:
- Cruise boats such as the ones belonging to Royal
Caribbean stop at Labadie
Monday and Tuesday.
- There are small planes that leave Miami for Cap
Haitien.
- The Marien Air is an air taxi service that offers
flights from Cap Haitien to Port-au Prince, Dominican
Republic, Turks and caicos, Bahamas and Jamaica.
- If you are coming from any other place you can land
at the international airport at Port-au-Prince then
board on Air MAF and Caribinair to Cap Haitien.
- By car, you can drive from Port-au-Prince to Cap
or take public transportation at the station of Cap
located at the intersection of the Route De Delmas
and la Saline. The trip usually last for about 6 to
7 hours and the fare is US$5.80
Hotels & Restaurants
Reviews
of Hotels in Cap-Haitien from Tripadvisor.com
HOTEL DU ROI CHRISTOPHE
262-0414* HOTEL IMPERIAL
262-0171/0534*
HOTEL RESTAURANTS BECK
262-0001*
HOTEL RESTAURANT DU MONT JOLI
262-0326/0300*
HOTEL RESTAURANT LES JARDINS DE L’OCEAN
262-2277*
HOTEL CORMIER PLAGE
262-0100*
HABITATION LABADIE
223-5900*
PENSION BRISE DE MER
262-0821*
*The International code is 011 and
Haiti's country code is (509) |
