Le Radeau des cimes

The « Radeau des Cimes » or The raft of the canopy in english was created in 1986. A true laboratory, this raft allows for the exploration of the plant and animal life in the canopy (French Guiana), a new territory that remains almost unexplored, with very little known about it. 

For years, researchers and scientists had dreamed of studying this canopy. Before 1986, it was technologically impossible to explore the fauna 40 meters above the ground.

Because helicopters create a violent vertical wind that scatters wildlife and damages the forest, the project designers preferred a 3,000 m² hot air balloon to lift and drop the 750 kg raft onto the treetops.

These expeditions are led notably by Dany Clevet-Marrel (French aeronaut), Francis Hallé (botanist), and Gilles Ebersoft (architect and designer of the Radeau des Cimes).

It's paradise : a group of passionate scientists find themselves in a giant inflatable balloon, it feels like an amusement park. They are in a primary forest that hasn’t been damaged by humans, and most importantly, they are discovering new species together. It’s truly a waking dream.

Each shaken branch is a tidal wave of discovery, insects we had never observed before.

This expedition immediately fascinated me, the very aesthetic aspect of the balloon, the crazy idea of saying 'What if we went to explore this unexplored place with a giant inflatable balloon?' 

At that time, there was a certain madness, a certain inventiveness, time, and money for such bold projects.