Balenbouche Estate

Balenbouche is an eighteenth-century estate on Saint Lucia's south coast with the great house, a stone sugar mill and aqueduct in the grounds, and a river running through the property to a black sand beach. Amerindian grinding stones and petroglyphs are on the rocks by the river, so the site carries occupation from long before the estate. It runs as a small guesthouse with tours of the grounds.

What you actually see

• The sugar mill and aqueduct - the stone works standing in the grounds.
• The Amerindian carvings - grinding stones and petroglyphs by the river.
• The great house - the eighteenth-century building, run as a guesthouse.
• The black sand beach - the shore the estate river reaches.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. The estate operates year round with some closures. Visits should be arranged in advance.

Honest expectations

It is a private estate and guesthouse; visits must be arranged. The mill ruins are unstable in places. The estate's history as ground worked by enslaved people is present but lightly presented.

Nearby

Choiseul is north, and Laborie is east.