The Kaw Marshes

Over the misty Kaw mountain from Cayenne, the land dissolves into one of the continent's richest wetlands: the Kaw marshes, a reserve of flooded savanna and channels where the classic visit runs by pirogue to a floating lodge, dinner as the sun drops, then the night circuit - spotlights catching the ember eyes of black caimans, the marsh's four-metre apex residents, at close and respectful quarters. Dawn answers with birds: scarlet ibis flights, agami herons, hoatzins wheezing in the bushes and raptors working the grass sea. It is French Guiana's essential overnight, run by a handful of operators who know every channel.

What you actually see

• The caiman night - black caimans' eyeshine on the spotlight circuit.
• Scarlet ibis dawns - red squadrons over the grass sea.
• The floating lodges - sleeping moored in the marsh's middle.
• Hoatzins and herons - the wetland's eccentric bird cast.

When to go

July to December, the drier months, concentrate wildlife along the channels; the wet season floods the savanna into a vast lake with its own moody appeal. Nights are the point - day trips shortchange the marsh.

Honest expectations

Comforts are hammocks or simple bunks on the floating lodges, mosquitoes attend the still hours, and the caiman viewing is thrilling precisely because the animals are large and wild - operators' rules exist for reasons. Book ahead; capacity is small. The mountain road fogs - drive it in daylight.

Nearby

Roura, the Kaw mountain's trails and Cayenne.