Réunion Island is the perfect place for nature lovers to enjoy walking and whilst at the same time listening to bird songs, the leaves rustling in the wind and the peaceful sound of rivers and waterfalls. You will be amazed by the diversity of landscapes and species offered by Réunion Island. In the « îlets » (remote villages), if you take the time to listen to them and respect their way of life, the inhabitants will be delighted to distract you with tales or true stories of (cyclones eruptions) and to give you a few recipes of local dishes and « rhums arrangés ».

You can go hiking all year long in Réunion Island. However, you need to be aware that the island has a tropical climate. There is a dry, mild season (from May to October) when the temperatures can reach below 10°C and even below 0°C at an altitude of 800 metres and above and a wet and hot season (from November to April) when many paths and trails become impassable due to the atmospheric disturbances and depressions. For instance, a small river can change into a dangerous torrent.

LdS

Weather forecast and ONF (condition of the trails)

Keep yourself informed before leaving (*).
Weather forecast : 0892 68 08 08 or 3250 ; ONF (Forest Commission): 02 62 37 38 39.
A Reunion is a very small island but it has 180 microclimates ! The weather can be very sunny in Saint-Paul and Saint-Leu and at the same time execrable in Saint-Benoît. A gentle breeze can blow in Boucan Canot and a howling wind in Saint-Pierre or Saint-Joseph.

NEVER GO HIKING ON YOUR OWN on any account!

If you do not have a fellow walker, contact a mountain guide. Information is available at the Maison de la Montagne in Saint-Denis. (Phone number : 02 62 90 78 78).

Or you can ring directly professional guides, such as Roby. Although he lives in Cilaos, he organises tailor-made hiking tours over the entire island. Phone numbers : 06 92 16 20 90 or 02 62 31 81 00. His strong points: a perfect knowledge of the volcano and of the three calderas. Base fee (from 2 to 12 persons): 140 € per day for the group.

Maps

The Institut géographique national (IGN) maps are a great help. A set of six maps (scale : 1 :25000), numbered 4401 RT to 4406 RT, covers the island.

Warning : use recent editions and, not 10 year old maps ! IGN maps can be bought in Réunion Island’s large bookshops and at the Maison de la Montagne in Saint-Denis (Phone number : 02 62 90 78 78). In mainland France they are available in at the IGN headquarters (107 rue de la Boétie 75008 Paris – Phone number : 01 43 98 85 00) and in bookshops specialised in travel and tourism.

You may also want to get the “topo-guide de l'île de La Réunion” written by the Fédération française de la Randonnée pédestre (FFRP)*. This guide focuses on the two “chemins de grande randonnée” (marked long-distance hiking trails) : GR R1 – Le Tour du Piton des Neiges and GR R2 - La Grande traversée de l'île. It also describes 8 one day hikes (from 1.5 km to 20 kms).

*French Hiking Federation

Clothes and accessories

Take clothes that are indispensable : a sweater and a parka. Of course don’t forget to wear good hiking shoes (light, cleated and waterproof). Essential accessories : a hat or a cap, sunglasses, suncream and a mosquito repellent.

Water and supplies

As it is rare to find shops near the departure and arrival points of the hiking trails, they keep their prices high (obviously, for certain areas such as Mafate or Grand Bassin, these high prices are due to the fact that access is difficult). You may come across a couple of fruit and vegetable sellers by the roadside, but you shouldn’t rely on it.

Bring plenty of water as you won’t get many occasions to refill (isoltherme flasks or previously refrigerated bottles of water that one then wraps up in newspaper and ties with an elastic band in order to keep them cold). Count on taking 3 litres of water per person per day.
For those of you that like to camp, don’t forget to take saucepans: the local sausage dish, rougail saucisse, cooked on the wood fire, is a tradition for the Reunion walker.

Accomodation

If you have booked somewhere to stay for the night, you will be provided with sheets and blankets. In some gîtes (for instance in Bélouve or Cayenne in Mafate caldera), you have the possibility to sleep in tents (either yours or one provided by your host). In return, you will need either to pay a modest sum or to eat at the gîte.

Essential accessories

A mobile phone (the ideal thing would be to bring one connected to the Orange network and another one to the SFR network since the two networks have a slightly different coverage)

A mini first-aid kit containing a disinfectant, band-aids (blister plasters), aspirine and paracetamol, arnica cream (for bruises), a tensor bandage, a pocket-knife, scissors, a pair of highly-sharpened tweezers (to remove splinters) and a « Aspivenin » pump which painlessly removes all injected venom from insects.

A torch or a headlamp.

Marking out

Always follow indicated trails. Visibility is sometimes poor at high altitude, and not only near the volcano. Fog can come down very quickly on the Sentier des Tamarins, in the Plaine des Cafres or in the Vallée de Takamaka.

Hiking time

Hiking times provided on our website and in guidebooks are for reference only. Total time varies according to your stamina, your physical condition, your motivation, how much your backpack weights, the condition of the trail, the atmosphere among the group / mood of the group, the amount of breaks, etc…
Be careful not to be overtaken by darkness.

Leave early in the morning

Follow this rule in order to be able to come back on time in case the weather changes for the worse and also to enjoy the sceneries before the clouds come out, especially in the « Hauts » region, the calderas, the Plaine des Sables and on the volcano slopes where it becomes cloudy by the end of morning and sometimes even before that.

Waste

Collection and disposal of waste in remote places such as Mafate being an issue, it would be sensible not to leave any waste. The ideal thing would be for you to bring a rubbish bag and put it in a bin which will be emptied by the rubbish men.
Etant donné les problèmes d'évacuation des déchets dans des lieux isolés (comme Mafate par exemple), et les conséquences de leur accumulation dans des décharges, il serait vraiment raisonnable de ne laisser aucun déchet derrière soi.
L'idéal est donc de prendre un sachet dans lequel on met ses déchets, et de le jeter dans une poubelle dont on est sûr qu'elle sera vidée par les services de la commune.

Car

Avoid leaving your car overnight at the starting point of hiking trails.