Bassin Bleu, eight minutes away

This is the first place we take people when they arrive, because it asks nothing of them: no walk, no opening hours, no ticket. Eight minutes from the bungalow, you park, and there it is — a turquoise freshwater pool, closed off from the sea by a bank of pebbles.

Bassin Bleu is the mouth of the Rivière des Roches, the same river that forms Bassin La Paix some fifteen kilometres upstream. Here it reaches the end of its run, spreads out, and forms a wide, shallow basin before meeting the ocean.

Getting there

Follow the RN2 north from Saint-Benoît. At Sainte-Anne, just past the church, a small road drops toward the sea and crosses the river by a ford. There is parking on either side. No barrier, no hours, no entry fee.

The ford is the one thing to watch. In the wet season, or after heavy rain in the Hauts, the level rises quickly and the crossing can be submerged. Never force a ford in spate, on foot or by car.

Swimming here

The water is fresh, clear, and frankly cold — it comes down from the Hauts. That is exactly what makes the east interesting: you do not swim in the lagoon, which is on the west coast, you swim in rivers. Bassin Bleu is one of the few places where that takes neither a walk-in nor any technique.

The bottom is pebbles and the depth stays modest across most of the pool. It is not a supervised swimming area for all that: no lifeguard, no markers. Avoid swimming during or just after heavy rain, and keep children within arm's reach.

• Shoes that stay on your feet: the pebbles roll.
• A towel and something to eat — there are shelters, but they are taken early at the weekend.
• There is not always a bin on site: take away what you brought.
• The ocean side is handsome but it is not a swimming beach: the sea is strong and the bottom is stone.

The church next door

Two hundred metres from the pool stands the church of Sainte-Anne, listed as a historic monument since 1982. From outside it is a façade covered entirely in carved motifs — flowers, fruit, scrollwork — applied in the early twentieth century to a structure from 1856, by Father Daubemberger and the villagers.

It takes a few minutes to step inside and it is worth the stop, if only for the contrast: baroque exuberance in the middle of a very quiet village. The site was used as a location for the film <em>Sarraounia</em>, and it is one of the few monuments on the island photographed more often than the waterfalls.

When to come

On a weekday morning the pool is often empty. On Sunday it is a Réunionese family picnic spot, with speakers and cooking pots — delightful if you like the atmosphere, much less so if you came for the quiet.

From the bungalow it is the end-of-day outing par excellence: you drive down around four, swim, and come back up for dinner. Eight minutes is not something you plan, it is something you decide — it is the outing that fills the gaps in a week in the east.

Frequently asked questions

Written in Saint-Benoît, where we rent the bungalow, and updated on September 13, 2026. Access and swimming rules change: we always point to the authority in charge rather than speaking for it.