The Citadelle

My friends at @Capdelihaiti invited me to go on a hike 3,000 ft up Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain to visit one of the largest fortresses in the Americas. It was built by up to 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820, led by Henri Christophe who declared himself king in 1811. His remains are still entombed here, surrounded with 365 cannons and thousands of cannonballs. The Citadelle was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site in 1982. Its walls are as high as 40 meters and covers an area of 10,000 sqm. It was so cool because when you get to the top of this fortress, you have a bird's eye view of Cap Haitian, Atlantic ocean and the surrounding valleys on a clear day. Inside, there are cannons with Napoleon's emblem still etched on them, collected when their ships sank during battle. Wow, so much history in this place and it's just less than 300km away from where I live (Cabarete). It's best to come here as a group, like I did, and have it organized by a trusted local tour operator such as @haitiroots. I am not affiliated with them but I know this tour company personally and with the current political situation in Haiti, we must take proper precautions.