The hikes that count

Réunion has more than a thousand kilometres of waymarked trails, and hiking is the island's leading activity. Here are the routes that always come up, from the most accessible to the most demanding, with what they actually ask.

Two rules apply everywhere. You leave early, because the relief clouds over by mid-morning and a viewpoint in fog cannot be made up. And you check the state of the trail on the morning itself: the national park and the ONF close routes after heavy rain.

Easy — half a day

• <strong>Grand Étang</strong>. Two hours around the lake, negligible climb, four hours if you push on to the Biberon waterfall. Muddy in every season. The best first walk of a stay.
• <strong>The Bébour-Bélouve forest</strong>, without going as far as the Trou de Fer: an hour's loop through primary tamarin forest, on boardwalk.
• <strong>Piton de Sucre</strong>, at Cilaos, an hour and a half, with a view over the whole cirque.
• <strong>The coastal path</strong> between Grande-Anse and Manapany, in the wild south.

Moderate — a full day

<strong>The Trou de Fer</strong> from the Bélouve refuge: nine kilometres, three to four hours, two hundred and thirty metres of climb. The boardwalk makes it accessible to anyone who walks normally; the real difficulty is the mud.

<strong>The Dolomieu crater</strong>, at Piton de la Fournaise: five hours there and back from the Pas de Bellecombe, crossing the enclosure over lava. No technical difficulty, but no shade and no water. A four-in-the-morning start.

<strong>Cap Noir and Roche Verre Bouteille</strong>, above Dos d'Âne: three hours, with one of the finest views over Mafate without descending into it.

Demanding — several days or a serious climb

<strong>The Piton des Neiges</strong>, 3,069 metres, the highest point on the island and in the whole Indian Ocean. The classic ascent starts from Cilaos: about five hours up to the Caverne Dufour refuge, a night there, then a four-thirty start to reach the summit at first light. It can be zero degrees up there.

<strong>Mafate.</strong> The cirque has no road: you enter on foot or by helicopter. The simplest access is the Col des Bœufs, from Salazie, toward La Nouvelle and Marla. Reckon three to four days to go round it, sleeping in the îlets. It is UNESCO World Heritage listed, and it is the hike people are still talking about years later.

<strong>The GR R2</strong>, the great traverse of the island, north to south in about ten days. For experienced and well-prepared walkers.

What to book, and when

• The Mafate refuges and the Caverne Dufour go several months ahead, more still in school holidays.
• The Bélouve refuge lets you sleep at the Trou de Fer trailhead — useful to be at the viewpoint at first light.
• Nothing needs booking for day walks.
• Access to the volcano's enclosure can close overnight during an eruption or an alert: check the evening before.

Equipment

Ankle-height walking boots — the trails are rocky, muddy and slippery, and city trainers will not do. Rain gear even in fine weather on the coast: at altitude the weather turns in twenty minutes. Water, in quantity: there is almost never a water point on the routes.

A fleece for the summits, a head torch if you set off before light — which you will at the volcano and the Piton des Neiges. The full list is in our packing list.

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.