Description
Île Royale is a beautiful tropical island off the coast of French Guiana. It is the largest of the historic Salvation Islands and once served as the main headquarters for France's famous prison colony, which included nearby Devil's Island. Today, the island is a peaceful sanctuary where nature has reclaimed the past. Visitors can walk among old brick prison cells, see a chapel painted by convicts, and explore a small history museum. The island is also home to lush greenery and wild monkeys, offering scenic coastal trails and safe beach pools for swimming.
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Things to do
Visit the Prisoner Built Chapel
Visiting the prisoner built chapel on Île Royale offers a deeply moving look at the human spirit surviving within a notorious penal colony. Stepping inside this historic church reveals a striking contrast to the grim prison surroundings, as the interior is completely covered in colorful, detailed frescoes painted entirely by the convicts themselves. The artwork, which includes religious imagery and decorative borders, was created using simple tools and natural pigments available on the island. Today, the preserved chapel stands as a beautiful and solemn monument to the creativity and hidden talents of the prisoners who sought comfort and expression through art during their harsh confinement.
Overlook Devil's Island
Standing at the northern overlook on Île Royale provides a powerful, sobering view of neighboring Devil's Island. Just across a narrow, treacherous stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, the rocky and palm fringed island sits completely isolated, lashed by fierce currents and crashing waves that made escape nearly impossible. From this vantage point, you can clearly see the stone cabins where high-profile political prisoners, including Captain Alfred Dreyfus, were kept in total isolation. Looking out across the water at the wild, forbidden shores evokes a deep sense of the loneliness and despair felt by the inmates, making it one of the most historically significant and emotionally moving viewpoints in the entire archipelago.
Swim in the Convicts’ Pool
The Convicts' Pool looks like a rustic, crescent shaped saltwater basin built directly into the island's rocky shoreline. It features a heavy, dark rock wall hand constructed by prisoners to trap the ocean water while blocking the Atlantic's rough surf and sharks. The pool is surrounded by jagged volcanic boulders, a small patch of sand, and a lush canopy of leaning coconut palm trees. The water inside the pool is shallow, calm, and turquoise, contrasting beautifully with the deeper, choppier ocean just on the other side of the stone barrier.