Blanchisseuse is a village in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located about midway along the north coast of Trinidad on the northern slope of the Northern Range, about 24 km north of Arima.
The village was settled by the French following the Cedula de Pobulación in 1783.
When Captain Frederick Mallet was charting and surveying the island of Trinidad following its capitulation to the British in 1797, he was told that the village had no name. Observing the women washing clothes in the river, he simply wrote on his survey chart: "Ladies River". Later, the settlers called the place after the washer-women the surveyor had seen, "Blanchisseuse" being the French for "washer-woman".
The difficult terrain meant there was little development or expansion, and no roads. The settlement was a clearing with thick forests and mountains behind and the sea in front.
There is now a road from Port of Spain (North Coast Road) and it is a beautiful drive to Blanchisseuse. Drivers will be well advised to drive carefully especially when the road is wet. Always keep to the left when approaching and going around the many sharp corners. Lookout for land slips along the way during the rainy season.