Kourou, French Guiana

Welcome to Kourou, a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. This charming town is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). But Kourou has much more to offer than just space exploration. Nestled at the mouth of the Kourou River, this town is surrounded by four hills: Carapa, Pariacabo, Café, and Lombard, with the Singes and Condamine mountains not far behind. The town boasts three lakes within its city limits: Lake Bois Diable, Lake Marie-Claire, and Lake Bois Chaudat. Visitors can take lessons in jetski and other aquatic sports, or enjoy canoeing and kayaking. Long white sand beaches and some rocky outcrops line the town’s ocean coast, while the riverbank and all points inland consist mostly of mangrove and dense tropical rainforest. Kourou had a population of 24,805 inhabitants at the 2020 census, and its inhabitants can be classified into three ethnic groups of roughly equal size: Indigenous peoples (mostly Kalina – also called Galibi), Creoles, Maroons (Boni and Saramaka), Whites (mostly French, from Metropolitan France), and Foreigners (Brazilians, Surinamese, Hmong, Haitians, Guyanese, etc.). The Saramaka mostly settled in the quartier Saramaka, along the river. In 2006, a fire rendered 55 people homeless. Kourou is the port of departure for those going to the Iles du Salut, of which the most famous is Devils Island. It is also common for many to go up the river in canoes on weekends to camp in the forest. However, Guiana in general has a high level of crime compared to the rest of France’s départements; Kourou has an average of two armed robberies a day. A march protesting the high level of insecurity felt by most of the population was held in Kourou on 27 October 2006. Shopkeepers of Chinese descent in particular are often targeted by armed robbers, their cash registers emptied and some products stolen. The Guiana Space Centre, where the European Space Agency starts missions, is located a little behind and outside the town. Part of the town and the islands are closed during rocket launches. In 2010, the Kourou solar power plant was built near Kourou on Aubanèle Savannah. It is the largest solar power plant in Overseas France. Kourou has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) with a short dry season centered between the months of August and October when the Intertropical Convergence Zone is furthest north. During the remainder of the year rainfall is always heavy. Between November and July a total of 2,396.4 millimetres or 94.35 inches can be expected in nine months, with rain on most days and very cloudy skies. Kourou’s economy is largely dominated by the CSG, from which the European Ariane rockets are launched, as well as the Russian Soyuz and the Italian Vega rockets. Kourou is served by Kourou Airport, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) at the west of the city. Kourou is the main town on an administrative district of French Guiana. Such a district is equivalent to a county in the United States. Kourou is represented in Paris as part of French Guiana’s 2nd constituency, which has been held by former Kourou city councilor Davy Rimane since 2022. The Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) gets many visitors all year round. The Musée de l’Espace is a museum devoted to space and space exploration. The Salvation Islands: Of the three islands, only two, Île Royale and Île Saint-Joseph, can be visited. The third is Devils Island. Les Roches gravées: Indigenous rock art, not far from the small industrial zone called Pariacabo. There are several marked public footpaths in the jungle, of which the most well-known and used is the one on the Montagne des Singes. Kourou River: Many people go up the river on canoes or small boats to camp along the shore in open dwellings, or simply in hammocks. The ocean may not be clear (it is brown due to the Amazonian silt), but both it and the beaches are clean. Kourou is also featured in the 2021 video game Battlefield 2042 as the setting of multiplayer map Orbital. Come and explore the wonders of Kourou, a unique destination that offers a blend of natural beauty, cultural diversity, and scientific innovation.