I have long wanted to go there (a sign that it isn’t actually a good standard tourist site) and now I read it is the focal point of the new promotion of tourism in Haiti:
The Western Hemisphere’s largest fortress, it was built atop a 3,000-foot mountain in the tumultuous years after Haiti broke from France in an 1804 slave revolt and became a symbol of triumph over bondage for descendants of African slaves everywhere.
The trip there is a two-hour crawl over unpaved roads and through garbage-strewn, traffic-clogged streets of Cap-Haitien. The final ascent, a steep cobblestone path, is traversed on foot or on undersized horses beaten with sticks by local guides.
Here is a painting of The Citadel.
Brimstone Hill Fortress on St. Kitts is also spectacular (http://www.brimstonehillfortress.org/). St. Kitts, unlike Haiti, is pleasant, clean and safe. Plus the roads are paved. Ant the view from the fortress is superb.
It was featured in Richard Halliburton’s “Book of Marvels” in the 1930s. But it mostly seemed like a symbol of the re-enslavement of the masses by a dictator. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
I grew up in Haiti, and visited the Citadel and Sans Souci Palace several times. Well worth a visit.
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