Hike around the lagoon of Jan Thiel. The first part of the hike is through Parke Sorsaka to the area near the Jan Thiel lagoon. From there the hike continues mostly close to the shore of the lagoon in a counter clockwise direction. The last part is once again through Parke Sorsaka
Highlights of this hike
- the historical bridge and a large well in Parke Sorsaka
- a nice Mazaliña forest and a forest of Mangrove trees
- beautiful nature along the path
- view on the lagune
- remnants of a lime kiln
- saltpans
This is quite a long hike over mostly flat terrain. At some place the area can be muddy or even wet. So keep this in mind when selecting shoes for this hike.
Parking
The cars ca be parked close to the plantation house Sorsaka opposite the entrance of the Medical Center Sorsaka. Don't park on the parking lot of the pharmacy Sorsaka. The owner does not like that.
Description of the trail
For a map of the trail check the download link below under the heading "Trail map". Also the track is available for download there.
From the parking area it is a short walk to the entrance of Parke Sorsaka, where the trail starts. Take the main path through both parts of the park to get to the area around the lagoon.
As soon as you leave the second part of Parke Sorsaka go to the right to start the hike around the lagoon. Depending on the water level you have to choose your path if you want to keep your feet dry. If the water level is low it is possible to take some shortcuts and walk over the old stone dams arount the salt pans. But most of the time part of these dams are under water. In that case you have to stay close to the vegetation away from the lagoon. The best way is to use the track in an app as a guidance but in fact you cannot go wrong.
There is no clearly marked trail in this area but as long as you keep the lagoon at your left hand side the exact path doesn't matter.
At a certain point close to the jail you will cross a small bridge over the water. If the water level is high parts of this bridge can be under water. Continue along the shoreline. After a while you have to leave the shore to go a bit higher up. At that ime the entrance of the lagoon is in sight. Close to the sea shore you walk through the old border gate. The gate is gone but the remnants of the border wall are clearly visible. At this point you are about half way in the hike.
Walk along the sea shore or the shore of the lagooun to the point where the lagoon shore bends inward. Try to stay as close to the shore of the lagoon as possible. Sometimes you have to climb some rocks to continue along the shore. If the water in the lagoon is really high you could get wet feet or go higher up to continue.
When you get at the first salt pan you take the path over the old dam between the salt pan and the lagoon to cross to the other side. There you continue along the shore till you reach the other salt pans. There you can take several paths over the dams between the salt pans depending on how long you want to make your hike. Enjoy the view over the salt pans.
Then go back in the direction of Parke Sorsaka. The last part of the trail is the same as the first part. This brings you back at your car.
Track of this hike on Wikiloc
Link to the track of this hike on Wikiloc (opens in a new window).
The track can be downloaded but a better option is to install the Wikiloc app on your smartphone; when you click on the download link with the app installed on your phone the link opens in Wikiloc (can take some time and does not always work) and you are able to follow the track. If this doesn't work you can download the track from the PC-version of the website and save the hike in your own profile. In this way you can follow the hike in your Wikiloc app.
It appears that this only works for the paid Premium version of this app.
As an alternative the free version of the Locus Map can be used. To use this app you need to download the track in GPX-format either from Wikiloc or directly from this page (see below under "Trail map").
Location
Pictures
Nice dead tree
Sandstone wall
The bridge lies partly under water
Dead tree in the water at an early hour
The border wall and the old pier
Remnants of the lime kiln
View on the lagune
Reflections when the water is flat
Trail map (download)
Map with route; right click and Save As
GPS track Visit Website