Bel Fond Hills

A walk around and over one of the lower mountains or higher hills east of Port-au-Prince, south of the road to Malpass.

To get to the starting point of the hike, follow the indicated way points. You'll need a 4WD car as the road is not suitable for regular cars.

Along the drive, you'll need to cross a gate. With some luck, someone will open it for you. If not, make sure to close it again as it's intended to keep animals (goats and cows) inside.

At the parking, you'll see a wooden fence, around 1 meter high. Cross this fence and then follow the road to the left, following the track in clockwise direction. In 5 km, you'll climb around 400 meter, so it's not too steep, but there are a few bits more steep. One particular point is marked with a way point. Here you'll may need to use your hand and feet, but it's only for 100 meter or less.

From Google Earth, you may get the impression the mountain is green and full of trees, but any branch thinker then a small wrist has been chopped down to make charcoal, so the mountain is mostly covered with shrubs and bushes no taller than 2 meter.

Around the highest part of the track, the track is not always very clear. Feel free to find an alternative track, using the GPS just to give you a direction.

The second half of the track brings you to the riverbed. Depending on season, you're not going to see any water. From the river, you'll follow the last part of the track, but to the fence at the starting point.

Along the way, you'll see many places where there are man-made fences, made from plants, bushes and cactuses. It seems to have fallen in disrepair, but you can still see that there used to be a large area here completely surrounded by these barriers.

The area can be quite hot and dry, so I recommend bringing plenty of water and do this walk in the early morning so you can enjoy it more.