There are places in French Guiana that look like nothing you’ll find anywhere else. Petit-Saut Lake, about twenty minutes from the town of Sinnamary, is one of them. Picture a 365 km² stretch of water born from the Amazon rainforest, bristling with thousands of dead trunks, dotted with islets that were once hills, and home to wildlife rescued from the rising waters. After several outings on site, by pirogue as well as on foot along the dam, here’s what you really need to know before you come.
Sinnamary, gateway to the largest artificial lake in French Guiana
Sinnamary is a coastal town on national road 1, between Kourou and Iracoubo, about 1h15 drive from Kourou and 2h from Cayenne. It’s a quiet little town, known for its estuary beaches and its leatherback turtle nesting in season, but also for serving as a logistics base for the Petit-Saut hydroelectric dam, located about thirty kilometres upstream on the Sinnamary River.
Flooded in the mid-1990s, the dam was built to supply French Guiana with electricity, notably the Guiana Space Centre. To build it, an immense portion of primary forest was submerged. The result is this unique Petit-Saut Lake: the largest artificial reservoir in the territory, with a surface area larger than many mainland French lakes.
A landscape of submerged forest
What strikes you when you reach the water are the trunks. Thousands of dead trees still emerge from the surface, silvery grey, sculpted by the years. Between them, islets (the famous “drowned islets”) correspond to the former hilltop ridges. Navigating here means crossing a forest graveyard turned sanctuary of life, where the silence is broken only by howler monkeys and the lapping of the pirogue.
The dam and its animal rescue
The dam itself can be visited from the viewpoint side, free of charge, from the welcome point. There you can understand how the hydroelectric structure works and the scale of the project. But the most striking story remains that of the wildlife rescue.
As the waters rose, an operation named “Faune Sauvage” (Wild Fauna) made it possible to recover thousands of animals trapped on the shrinking islets: sloths, monkeys, anteaters, snakes, turtles. Many were released on the banks and the large islets. That’s why the lake today concentrates a surprising density of refugee sloths, often visible, clinging to the low branches of the trees still alive.
What you can observe on the lake
- Two- and three-toed sloths, the great classic of the outings, sometimes just a few metres from the pirogue
- Red howler monkeys, heard well before they’re seen, especially at daybreak
- Sakis, tamarins and capuchins in the canopy of the wooded islets
- Caimans on the banks, late in the day
- Hoatzins, macaws and herons, for bird enthusiasts
- Giant otters, rarer but very much present in certain creeks
Pirogue outings: the only real way to discover the lake
You don’t visit Petit-Saut from the road: you have to climb into a pirogue. Local pirogue operators offer half-day or full-day outings, usually departing from a landing point near the dam.
What to expect
- Half-day (3 to 4h): around 45 to 70 € per person, ideal for a first approach and observing sloths
- Full day: often 90 to 130 €, with a lunch break on an islet
- Overnight bivouac in a carbet: from 110 to 160 € per person depending on the package, meals included
Rates vary depending on the number of participants and the operator. Book in advance, especially in high tourist season: the good pirogue operators fill up fast.
Tips for the outing
- Set off early in the morning: the wildlife is active, the light is soft and the heat bearable
- Bring water, a hat, sunscreen and above all an effective mosquito repellent
- Plan for closed shoes that won’t be ruined by water for the landings
- Slip your camera gear into a waterproof bag: splashes are guaranteed
- Bring binoculars: they transform the observation of sloths and birds
Sleeping in a carbet by the water
The experience that leaves the deepest mark is a night in a carbet, that traditional open shelter where you sleep in a hammock under a mosquito net. Some operators have carbets set up on islets or along the lakeshore.
Falling asleep to the sound of the forest, waking up in the morning mist drifting over the silvery trunks, listening to the concert of howler monkeys at sunrise: it’s a raw immersion, without superfluous comfort, but unforgettable. Bring your hammock and mosquito net (often provided in bivouac packages, to be confirmed), a headlamp, and something to cover up with, as the nighttime humidity cools the air.
