Hill Ouen Toro
Hill Ouen Toro
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
147 reviews
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lastword2016
Edinburgh, UK532 contributions
Jan 2020
Wherever we travel, we like, if possible, to find a high up lookout spot to get an all round view of where we are. And this hill provided us with superb views of the surrounding area, the sea, and the islands. We thoroughly enjoyed this, and were able to bring back some lovely photos. It’s well worth the hike up, or just take a tour. We loved it.
Written 21 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MCC
South West England, UK746 contributions
Jan 2020
The highest view point called Ouen Toro which is a hill standing at the south side of Nouméa. The view from here was really great. The whole area of Ouen Toro of 68 hectares has been regenerated as the last place for dry rainforest. The notion of ‘dry rainforest’ seems contradictory to some—but it exists right here at Capricorn Caves. Dry rainforest (semi-evergreen vine thicket) have many features in common with ‘typical’ rainforests but special characteristics such as their ability to grow and thrive in relatively dry conditions and the prevalence of prickly and thorny plants identify them as an unusual rainforest type. This was the rainforest of Gondwana when it began to break up 50 million-years-ago.
At the peak of Ouen Toro during the Second War World, as part of Australia's contribution, to the defence of New Caledonia, an Australian coastal artillery unit called "Robin Force" commanded by Captain Carty - Salmon spent seventh months on Ouen-Toro to install and operate two 6" guns and to train the local.
At the peak of Ouen Toro during the Second War World, as part of Australia's contribution, to the defence of New Caledonia, an Australian coastal artillery unit called "Robin Force" commanded by Captain Carty - Salmon spent seventh months on Ouen-Toro to install and operate two 6" guns and to train the local.
Written 6 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OcalaTraveler2011
Ocala, FL464 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
We booked a tour on a cruise ship for the Tchoo Tchoo train tour. I know, it sounds corny, and I guess it is. But we had a really good tour of the local area, including the top of the Quen Toro hill, the highest point on the island. It had fabulous views from where the WWII artillery gun is located. Although the cannon was never used in action, you can still appreciate the commanding view from where it is mounted.
Written 10 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
William
Sydney, Australia315 contributions
We were in cruise arriving Noumea for a day. Join in 2.5hour country tour. Driving pass through city. The popular beaches seems dirty. The only two points make feeling worth are the hill view and culture center funny buildings.
Written 4 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Albywon
Sydney, Australia13,655 contributions
There are several ways to get here, the chespest is the $2.40 bus fare frim the central square and then walk a couple of km to the top of the hill.
We chose that option and were not disappointed. The walk from the base is fun itself, and you manage to get time to yourself between the constant flow of tour busses and the dreaded Tchoo Tchoo trains which arrive at regular intervals.
Great experience and a worthwhile, and free, activity while in Noumea.
Of course you could always pay to get there...
We chose that option and were not disappointed. The walk from the base is fun itself, and you manage to get time to yourself between the constant flow of tour busses and the dreaded Tchoo Tchoo trains which arrive at regular intervals.
Great experience and a worthwhile, and free, activity while in Noumea.
Of course you could always pay to get there...
Written 6 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lottyh
Vancouver, Canada28 contributions
Mar 2014 • Friends
We are a group of cruise passengers visiting Noumea for a day. We were lucky to have Fernando of www.fernandostoursntransport.com to be our guide and transport for the day. He was very professional, very funny and very honest. He first showed us around the beach and then to Hill Quen Toro which has the best view of Noumea. You can see the city center, the ocean and the mountains. Apart from the spectacular view, it is also very historical as it has the battery used during the WW II. It is a popular place for locals to hang around for picnics. I think one should not miss this place if visiting Noumea. There are many interesting places to see around Noumea and Fernando took us to all of them. We returned to the ship, tired but happy. I can highly recommend Fernando to be a guide in Noumea.
Written 3 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hidee5
Leichhardt, Australia184 contributions
Sept 2014 • Couples
I walked up the hill on my own. A stunning walk indeed. Around every bend you have incredible views of noumea. Plenty of people walk or cycle up the hill everyday. Great for the fitness. Plenty of places to stop to rest and enjoy the view. About a 40 min walk up n back from the Anse Vata area
Written 27 September 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul_R_8208
Oceanside, OR400 contributions
May 2019 • Solo
I walked to the top of this hill to see the sunrise and sunset several times and the views were amazing. It is also possible to drive to the top. A large network of trails crosses through the park. I met many locals here.
Written 28 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
blackeldo
Kiama, Australia2,235 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
I FINALLY MADE THIS GREAT VIEWPOINT ON MY 8TH VISIT….SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE FIRST
One of Noumea’s pluses is many backing hills providing excellent vantage points – none better than OUEN TORO. Mind you we are not talking 360 degrees from the main viewpoint at the end of the public road up the hill – to get an unbroken circle you need to access the slightly higher ZONE MILITAIRE INTERDITE which my high-school French interprets as FORBIDDEN MILITARY ZONE. Nevertheless from the public viewpoint you have a good 270 degrees taking in most of the city’s west coastal areas including the very popular ANSE VATA** and LEMON BAY** beach zones, the nearer north-west HOTEL-CASINO ZONE (although some of this is tucked down under the lee of the hill), the more distant western lagoon area including popular DUCK ISLAND** and several similar coral cays – and then around to NOUMEA’S less visited eastern coastal suburbs, the rather picturesque bays and offshore islands to the north-east and the equally scenic coastal mountains of the island’s east coast. Nice.
Note too on the way up the hill you get a chance if on foot or by taxi to call in at a lower viewpoint with views to the west and a little higher where the road wraps around the hill, some upmarket residences with knockout north-eastern outlooks.
ACCESS
– If you arrive by CRUISE LINER (with 10 arrivals per week the biggest source of visitors) the EASIEST OPTION is to catch the YELLOW TCHOU TCHOU TRAIN** from the ship which calls at OUEN TORO on its tour of NOUMEA. But to save maybe 50%, catch the free shulltle coach from the ship 10 minutes to the CRUISE TERMINAL* where you can jump on LYVAI’S** GREEN TCHOU TCHOU TRAIN for much the same tour. LYVAI’S COUNTRY TOUR also calls in. There is also a DOUBLE DECKER BUS run by another CRUISE TERMINAL outfit which does more or less the same thing as the GREEN TCHOU TCHOU.
*small and medium cruise ships can moor alongside the CRUISE TERMINAL.
- the CRUISES’ JUMP ON JUMP OFF BUSES** also leave directly from the ship (or to save mucho, from the CRUISE TERMINAL). The nearest you can get to QUEN TORO is the turnaround along ANSE VATA BEACH from where you walk east along the coastal promenade which then turns inland: after 1300m from start turn up the access road to OUEN TORO from where it is another 1500m to the PUBLIC VIEWPOINT AREA.
- PUBLIC BUSES RUN A BIT CLOSER for a considerable saving. Walk inland 2 blocks from the CRUISE TERMINAL to the big parkland PLACE DE COCOTIERS (COCONUT SQUARE)**, look/ask for the bus terminus and catch bus 10 which should drop you at the foot of the hill. Buses 11/12 will get you to more or less the same point on Anse Vata as the JUMP ON JUMP OFF.On weekends only bus 14 from the CRUISE TERMINAL does much the same as 10.
Note there are alternative WALKING TRACKS up the hill, graded easy thru challenging – CANONICA’S review down page has details and online maps show the routes.
- PEOPLE STAYING IN HOTELS will mainly be in the ANSE VATA and NORTH WEST RESORT/CASINO area. From there follow the walking directions above. Alternatively head down-town and grab a TCHOU TCHOU at the CRUISE TERMINAL or for big bucks (FP FRANCS?) grab a hotel taxi or the hotels’ tame tour option.
TIPS
- Expensive ship-booked tours leaving from the pier can be a boon to mobility-impaired cruisers.
- Although online booking of independent tours offers discounts/convenience be aware that ships can change itineraries.
- upstairs in the CRUISE TERMINAL is a market area with a whole bunch of local stalls offering clothing/food/entertainment/tourist-trinkets yada – a good place to explore even if you don’t buy.
- You can also go exploring near the terminal – a bunch of sea-view restaurant/bars to the left and the city center with heaps of smart shops, cafes, restaurants and duty free places starts immediately inland. Note – prices may offend the fiscally challenged.
- the café at the CRUISE TERMINAL has WiFi. We have found it not very good. Nearby COCONUT SQUARE (PLACE DE COCOTIERS)**, has free WiFii. Sign-in is simple but takes time - the signal seems reliable.
- Most stores in the city close 1130-1430 for a kind of SIESTA. But few restaurants/cafes shut and not the market area upstairs in the cruise terminal. Sunday is not a good day to arrive – many city central retailers are shut. Some places like the Aquarium are open all weekend chose but close on Mondays – but not to official tours from the ship.
- LYVAI and most other outlets at the cruise terminal take Aussie dollars as do many businesses around town (but not all!). Credit card acceptance seems almost universal.
**TRIPADVISOR has dedicated pages with user reports/pix on these.
One of Noumea’s pluses is many backing hills providing excellent vantage points – none better than OUEN TORO. Mind you we are not talking 360 degrees from the main viewpoint at the end of the public road up the hill – to get an unbroken circle you need to access the slightly higher ZONE MILITAIRE INTERDITE which my high-school French interprets as FORBIDDEN MILITARY ZONE. Nevertheless from the public viewpoint you have a good 270 degrees taking in most of the city’s west coastal areas including the very popular ANSE VATA** and LEMON BAY** beach zones, the nearer north-west HOTEL-CASINO ZONE (although some of this is tucked down under the lee of the hill), the more distant western lagoon area including popular DUCK ISLAND** and several similar coral cays – and then around to NOUMEA’S less visited eastern coastal suburbs, the rather picturesque bays and offshore islands to the north-east and the equally scenic coastal mountains of the island’s east coast. Nice.
Note too on the way up the hill you get a chance if on foot or by taxi to call in at a lower viewpoint with views to the west and a little higher where the road wraps around the hill, some upmarket residences with knockout north-eastern outlooks.
ACCESS
– If you arrive by CRUISE LINER (with 10 arrivals per week the biggest source of visitors) the EASIEST OPTION is to catch the YELLOW TCHOU TCHOU TRAIN** from the ship which calls at OUEN TORO on its tour of NOUMEA. But to save maybe 50%, catch the free shulltle coach from the ship 10 minutes to the CRUISE TERMINAL* where you can jump on LYVAI’S** GREEN TCHOU TCHOU TRAIN for much the same tour. LYVAI’S COUNTRY TOUR also calls in. There is also a DOUBLE DECKER BUS run by another CRUISE TERMINAL outfit which does more or less the same thing as the GREEN TCHOU TCHOU.
*small and medium cruise ships can moor alongside the CRUISE TERMINAL.
- the CRUISES’ JUMP ON JUMP OFF BUSES** also leave directly from the ship (or to save mucho, from the CRUISE TERMINAL). The nearest you can get to QUEN TORO is the turnaround along ANSE VATA BEACH from where you walk east along the coastal promenade which then turns inland: after 1300m from start turn up the access road to OUEN TORO from where it is another 1500m to the PUBLIC VIEWPOINT AREA.
- PUBLIC BUSES RUN A BIT CLOSER for a considerable saving. Walk inland 2 blocks from the CRUISE TERMINAL to the big parkland PLACE DE COCOTIERS (COCONUT SQUARE)**, look/ask for the bus terminus and catch bus 10 which should drop you at the foot of the hill. Buses 11/12 will get you to more or less the same point on Anse Vata as the JUMP ON JUMP OFF.On weekends only bus 14 from the CRUISE TERMINAL does much the same as 10.
Note there are alternative WALKING TRACKS up the hill, graded easy thru challenging – CANONICA’S review down page has details and online maps show the routes.
- PEOPLE STAYING IN HOTELS will mainly be in the ANSE VATA and NORTH WEST RESORT/CASINO area. From there follow the walking directions above. Alternatively head down-town and grab a TCHOU TCHOU at the CRUISE TERMINAL or for big bucks (FP FRANCS?) grab a hotel taxi or the hotels’ tame tour option.
TIPS
- Expensive ship-booked tours leaving from the pier can be a boon to mobility-impaired cruisers.
- Although online booking of independent tours offers discounts/convenience be aware that ships can change itineraries.
- upstairs in the CRUISE TERMINAL is a market area with a whole bunch of local stalls offering clothing/food/entertainment/tourist-trinkets yada – a good place to explore even if you don’t buy.
- You can also go exploring near the terminal – a bunch of sea-view restaurant/bars to the left and the city center with heaps of smart shops, cafes, restaurants and duty free places starts immediately inland. Note – prices may offend the fiscally challenged.
- the café at the CRUISE TERMINAL has WiFi. We have found it not very good. Nearby COCONUT SQUARE (PLACE DE COCOTIERS)**, has free WiFii. Sign-in is simple but takes time - the signal seems reliable.
- Most stores in the city close 1130-1430 for a kind of SIESTA. But few restaurants/cafes shut and not the market area upstairs in the cruise terminal. Sunday is not a good day to arrive – many city central retailers are shut. Some places like the Aquarium are open all weekend chose but close on Mondays – but not to official tours from the ship.
- LYVAI and most other outlets at the cruise terminal take Aussie dollars as do many businesses around town (but not all!). Credit card acceptance seems almost universal.
**TRIPADVISOR has dedicated pages with user reports/pix on these.
Written 17 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rebecca O
Sydney, Australia23 contributions
Dec 2016 • Solo
I was staying at nearby Anse Vata. This is a perfect morning walk each day to fully allow you to fully enjoy the most gorgeous french bread and cheese and everything else for the rest of the day..... Views from the top are divine but won't give you an amazing panoramic view of the area. The walk up the road is about 50 minutes up. The off road tracks up the hill are really well graded in my opinion - green is wide, groomed and an easy walk. Blue is a bush track, but a well tracked one. Red can be quite steep and the path can loose shale and not the easiest to navigate.
My standard walk was just to trip up the road, and then at the pinnacle, to take the little red track down to the east, take the first left in the track and the second left, it will take you back to the road, and give you a bit of a hill / bush walk. Then on the way down, near the option to visit the Ouen Toro lookout, walk up to the left, a green walking path for a short while that you can drop out of near Le Meridien on the road. I'd leave my hotel at 7.15 and be back for breaky by 9. Perfect. Give me another knob of butter please :)
My standard walk was just to trip up the road, and then at the pinnacle, to take the little red track down to the east, take the first left in the track and the second left, it will take you back to the road, and give you a bit of a hill / bush walk. Then on the way down, near the option to visit the Ouen Toro lookout, walk up to the left, a green walking path for a short while that you can drop out of near Le Meridien on the road. I'd leave my hotel at 7.15 and be back for breaky by 9. Perfect. Give me another knob of butter please :)
Written 1 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have an 8 month old baby. Is the path suitable for a pram or better to take the baby in a baby carrier/ sling?
Written 24 September 2022
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