CaribbeanTravel.com - Winter 2009 - (Page 137)

HAITI Haiti beauty endures, CULTURE THRIVES the fortress. In the valley are the impressive remains of the Versailles-style Palace of Sans Souci, built in 1810. Héros, the central square with government buildings and statues; and the Basilica of Notre Dame. Most visitors to the capital stay in Petionville, an upscale district located in the city’s hilly outskirts. It hosts international embassies, trendy restaurants, boutiques, bars and nightclubs. Barbancourt Rum Distillery, in operation since 1765 and housed in a hillside castle, is a must-see. H aiti has a rich history and culture that deserves to be experienced by a wider audience. Savvy, intrepid travelers who look beyond the poverty and lack of tourism infrastructure (and more recently, hurricane damage) are rewarded with the opportunity to enjoy an authentic culture without commercialism or tourist crowds. The forts, castles, architecture, art, music and spiritual traditions can entrance like a Vaudou (voodoo) spell. The most renowned attraction in this country is the UNESCO World Heritage Site on the northern peninsula, featuring forts, castles and ruins. The impressive Citadelle features commanding views of Cap-Haïtien harbor and the coastline. Its 130-foot-high walls crown the top of 3,000-foot-high Pic la Ferriere. Begun in 1804, it took 20,000 men 13 years to build ARTISTIC CAPITAL The capital, Port-au-Prince, is located on the Gulf of Gonâve in the central region. The most popular attraction here is the Museum of Haitian Art, showcasing the famed Art Naïf paintings. The Iron Market is a crowded but fascinating place to shop for handicrafts, beaded vaudou prayer ﬂags and up-and-coming artists. Visitors will see vibrant murals and art everywhere, including on the sides of buses, buildings and houses. Other points of interest in Port-auPrince include the Musée de Pantheon, chronicling Haiti’s history; the Place des WATERFALLS AND WAVES Although much of Haiti has been deforested, nature still reigns in the high mountains along the southern peninsula. Pic de Macaya, 7,700 feet high, features a cloud HAITI GEOGRAPHY: Haiti is located in the western part of the island of Hispaniola, occupying 10,714 square miles of the second largest of the Caribbean islands. LANGUAGE: French and Creole are the ofﬁcial languages. English and Spanish are also widely spoken. POPULATION: Over 7 million. CLIMATE: Average daytime temperature is 76ºF-82ºF, with cooler nights. Rainy season is from May to July and September to early December. There are 20-25 days of rain annually. TIME: Same as EST. GMT -5. 137

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CaribbeanTravel.com - Winter 2009 Contents Beaches and Water Sports Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Golf Courses Romance Spas Destination Websites Caribbean Map Caribbean Hotel Association Members Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Aruba The Islands Of The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cancún, Cozumel, Riviera Maya Cayman Islands Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Guyana Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Martinique St. Barthelemy St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius St. Martin St. Vincent & The Grenadines Suriname Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos U.S. Virgin Islands

CaribbeanTravel.com - Winter 2009

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