Chutes de la Madeleine

Grande Terre


This ladylike waterfall, with its wide apron of tinkling water, sits in a botanic reserve in the middle of a vast plain. Swimming is forbidden at the waterfall, but allowed back towards the main road.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Grande Terre attractions

1. Le Site de Netcha

1.15 MILES

Here, there are wooden platforms over the river and shelters and tables overlooking the water where you can picnic. You can camp here (500 CFP per tent)…

2. Touaourou Church

7.46 MILES

If you do any driving around Grande Terre, you're bound to be stunned by the number of old churches. It seems that every village has at least one. At…

3. Prony

7.66 MILES

Once a convict centre, Prony sits in a lush hollow surrounded by forest beside Baie de Prony. A stream runs through the village of corrugated-iron…

4. Parc Provincial de la Rivière Bleue

9.58 MILES

Protected Blue River Park is a reserve for many bird species, including the cagou. The landscape is a mixture of the far south’s typical scrub vegetation…

5. Cascade de Wadiana

10.88 MILES

At Goro on the east coast the road passes beside Wadiana falls, which cascade down a rocky slope into a natural pool where you can swim.

6. Port Boisé

11.35 MILES

Port Boisé is an isolated bay surrounded by a forest of Cook pines, 6.5km from the turn-off on the main road. The ecolodge here makes a good base for the…

7. Tjibaou Cultural Centre

23.98 MILES

The cultural centre is a tribute to a pro-independence Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, who was assassinated in 1989. It sits in a peaceful woodland and…

8. Parc Zoologique et Forestier

25.75 MILES

Wander along a network of paths through gardens of native shrubs and trees, cactus and forest with a changing backdrop of sea views in the distance. You…