Guadeloupe National Park, National park in Guadeloupe, France

Guadeloupe National Park covers a core area of 173 km², about two-thirds of Basse-Terre's tropical forest, from roughly 250 m up to the 1,467 m summit of La Soufrière, an active volcano. Other peaks include Échelle (1,397 m), Grand-Sans-Toucher (1,354 m) and the twin Mamelles (768 m). The Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve adds 21 km² of marine and 16 km² of terrestrial area.

The area became France's first overseas national park in 1989, marking a shift toward stronger protection of the region. UNESCO designated it a Biosphere Reserve three years later, bringing international recognition to its ecological importance.

The park's name appears in the 1970 "parc naturel de Guadeloupe", created by the General Council and managed by the National Forests Office, which laid out hiking trails and visitor facilities. The Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin reserve, created in 1987 and entrusted to the park in 1990, is a Ramsar wetland of international importance for birds. The 2009 decree added the islets Kahouanne and Tête à l'Anglais and the seabed around the Pigeon islets to the core zone.

The area features marked trails of varying difficulty that lead through different habitats and elevations. Visitors should prepare for humid conditions and bring proper footwear and water, as routes pass through dense vegetation and sometimes steep terrain.

The park's 17 mammal species include two bats endemic to Guadeloupe, and authorities plan to reintroduce the manatee, long extinct there. Its insects reach notable sizes, among them Hercules beetles and black witch moths. The Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin reserve holds nearly half of Guadeloupe's mangrove swamps, 37 of 80 square kilometres.