DOMAINE D'ÉMERAUDE

It is one of the most beautiful gardens on the island, a must-do for families. The Domaine d'Émeraude was entirely designed and developed by the Regional Natural Park of Martinique. In this 25-hectare park dedicated to Martinican biodiversity, nature is left as it is, untouched, in order to bring the visitor to observe it in its simplest form, beautiful and mysterious.

Created on the site of an old plant nursery, the traces of which are still visible, the Domaine d'Émeraude was once called the Domaine d'Estripault. In the 18^th century, it was home to communities of Acadians expelled by the British. In 2011, it was entrusted to the Regional Nature Park of Martinique with the mission to protect and enhance the natural, cultural and landscape heritage of Martinique. The organization, which also manages the Château Dubuc on the Caravelle peninsula, has completely redesigned it to make it a conservatory highlighting the island's exceptional biodiversity. But not only that, because the Domaine d'Émeraude is both a place for family walks and a space dedicated to the discovery of the island's nature and culture, a site for exploring the rare and endemic species of Martinique. Here, there is no staging: simply a presentation of the exceptional biodiversity of Martinique.

Throughout the walk and the visit, there are several visiting times and areas proposed, among the alleys lined with ornamental plants, the basin with water jets at the entrance of the park and the many carbets (typical local shelters) for a break in the shade.

Firstly, there are the four kilometers of educational trails through the tropical rainforest, which allow visitors to become familiar with the main species representative of this environment. Three trails (15 minutes walk for the first one, 30 minutes for the second one and one hour for the last one) crisscross the rainforest that occupies nearly 80% of the estate. You can walk through banana trees, mahoganies, heliconias (the tree symbol of Aimé Césaire's party), tree ferns and flamboyants. Along the walk, which is designed for families (strollers and wheelchairs are welcome!), you will come across about a hundred botanical species typical of Martinique.

Listen carefully: you will surely hear the melodious song of the whistling rufous-throated solitaire, an endemic bird of the Lesser Antilles.

Look up: in the distance, you will see sublime views of Mount Pelée.

Then head for the Jardin des Origines, which houses more than 300 plants and spices used in Creole cuisine and traditional Caribbean pharmacopoeia: achiotes, cocoa, tinin bananas, basil, mint, cinnamon, coffee (from Arabica Typica for which the PNRM has set up a major plan to revive production), shell ginger, June plums…

In this area, the aim is to make visitors aware of Martinique's cultural traditions. A Creole house has thus been reconstituted with its subsistence garden with its plants for food and medicine in the immediate vicinity of the living area.

The panels show the Creole and scientific names of each plant and the family to which the species belongs. We then get to the collection of plants under shade. One of the experimental greenhouses houses a hybrid species of anthurium (whose name means “aroma” in Creole), developed to resist parasites and diseases. The visit continues with the ornamental plants (ginger flower, breadfruit tree, cordyline, palm lillies, wax ginger…). Admire some very beautiful trees and palms inherited from the past, including a beautiful group of açai palms.

The final stop is the educational exploration pavilion, which traces the history of the island and its biodiversity and can be visited at the beginning and end of the tour. A true library of living things that will enchant young and old alike. Here you can touch, smell and observe the wonders of nature on the island. The various playful and sensory displays should charm the youngest visitors, whether it be the little tales evoking the history of Martinique based on oral tradition or the visual and sound animation of forest life. Educational and instructive, this space will teach you what a mangrove is and why it must be preserved (because it is there that crabs reproduce) or how the soil is formed. There is also an area where you can find local poems, quotes, and proverbs. Without ever becoming boring or moral, the educational mission of the Domaine d'Émeraude is particularly well provided. There is something interesting for each age group, who will learn valuable lessons about the fauna and flora of Martinique.

Labelled Jardin Remarquable in 2015, this park is a unique tool for the preservation of Martinique's heritage. Throughout the visit, nature is cleverly staged in a subtle and non-interventionist way to offer itself to the visitor as it is. In this green setting, it flourishes and expresses itself freely, far from the whims of Man. With the Domaine d'Émeraude, the Regional Nature Park of Martinique invites visitors to better observe what surrounds them, taking them on a journey to the heart of Martinican territory and encouraging them to better preserve it. An exquisite visit!