Cacao

In 1977, Hmong refugee families from Laos were settled on a forested bend of the Comte river - and Cacao became one of South America's least probable villages: stilt houses and vegetable terraces in the rainforest, and a Sunday institution that draws Cayenne over the hills every week. The market is the draw: pho and nem devoured at communal tables, Hmong embroidery whose story-cloths stitch the community's history, and produce - ramboutans, cane, greens - from farms that made the village the department's market garden. An insect museum (this is Guiana; the beetles are architectural) and river walks round out the classic Sunday.

What you actually see

• The Sunday market - pho, nem and the week's great gathering.
• The story-cloth embroidery - Hmong needlework carrying history.
• The stilt village - Southeast Asia's lines in Amazonian green.
• The insect museum - Guiana's beetles and blue morphos pinned and explained.

When to go

Sunday is the day - the market runs mornings into early afternoon; arrive before noon for the food at full choice. The dry months make the hill road kinder, but Sundays run year round.

Honest expectations

On any day but Sunday, Cacao is a quiet farming village - charming but brief; time the visit or repurpose it as a walking base. The market draws crowds by Guianese standards - go early for tables. Photography of people follows the asking rule, embroidery purchases are the best thanks.

Nearby

Roura, the Kaw mountain road and Cayenne.