REUNION ISLAND HIKE
The interior of Réunion Island is a mega wonderland of high-altitude volcanic peaks, colourful Creole villages and forests dripping with orchids and ferns. Here’s what you need to know about the Grande Randonnée Route 1 – one of the island’s best trekking
“It’s mid-morning but already clouds billow around the high peaks, shrouding, then revealing, jagged ridgelines and dramatic rock formations. This is a real mountain adventure.”
The constant switchbacks and hairraising drops into the gorge below the narrow road are making me queasy. We’d been warned that with some 400 twists and turns, Réunion’s most spectacular drive – up from the coast to the hilltop settlement of Cilaos – is not for the faint of heart. Or stomach. I’m very glad I’m not behind the wheel. Photographer Shaen Adey and I are on our way to hike the Grande Randonnée Route 1 (GR R1), a circular trail that loops around the highest peak on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion – the 3 070 m Piton des Neiges. Also known as the Tour de Piton des Neiges, or Tour des Cirques, the multi-day trail takes hikers through the three valleys of Cilaos, Mafate and Salazie that form the heart of the island – an area of exceptional natural beauty and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Réunion is an overseas administrative district, or department, of France and although it’s only 226 km south-west of Mauritius, it’s not your typical laid-back Indian Ocean island. Sure, it has sun-drenched beaches, exotic flora, protected lagoons and an array of water sports to match its more famous neighbour, but with an active volcano, remote mountainous interior, deep canyons and some seriously adrenalin-pumping activities on offer, it’s also a true adventure playground.
The plethora of walking trails makes Réunion a hikers’ paradise. In 2019, the 57 km GR R1 was voted by the French as their most beautiful trail – no mean feat when you consider that mainland France is home to some of the most famous and scenic multiday hiking trails in the world, like the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Grande Traversée des Pyrénées, and Corsica’s GR20 – often described as Europe’s toughest trek.
It wasn’t the first time I was hiking the GR R1 – I did it years ago in 1996, a few months after I’d moved to South Africa from the UK. In 2019, the GR R1 turned 40 and such an auspicious birthday seemed a good excuse to revisit.
I manage to keep my breakfast down and Shaen and I finally pull into Cilaos just before midday. We take in the grandiose mountain setting from a café, then wander around town admiring the colourful wooden buildings and stocking up on fresh food from the market. Our afternoon hike, the five-hour La Chapelle Trail, is a taste of what’s to come. One of the island’s most spectacular day walks, the
9,5 km out-and-back route drops 800 m to a river, which we follow to a chasm in the cliff. Shedding our clothes we wade into the chilly water and swim into a chapel-like vault where a waterfall cascades through an eroded magma chamber. After the steep haul back up to Cilaos, we deserve a glass of the local wine!
DAY 1 CILAOS TO MARLA (12,5 km) Mountains ahoy!
The next day at dawn, we’re on the bus to the trailhead at a place called Sentier Marla. The road there is even narrower and twistier than yesterday’s. On the first bend, the front wheel scrapes a retaining wall that’s there specifically to stop vehicles from plummeting down the sheer cliff. Seemingly unperturbed, the driver executes a three-point turn and manoeuvres around the corner. Shaen, sitting in the front, is white as a cloud.
Once disgorged from the bus, we start the steep ascent from the road to the Col du Taibit, the lowest part of the ridge that separates the Cirque de Cilaos from neighbouring Cirque de Mafate. An hour later, at Îlet des Salazes, we come across a charming little tea room set among the filaos trees where a cheery, bearded gentleman is dispensing cups of floral tea and slices of chouchou cake. It’s a delightful spot, and at
€2 a pop for tea and cake, it’s excellent value. Refreshed, we take a short detour to a cliff-edge viewpoint and gaze over the Cilaos Valley all the way to the shimmering ocean some 1 500 m below, before continuing up to the gap, where we have our real breakfast overlooking the Cirque de Mafate as happy little birds devour dropped baguette crumbs. The hamlet of Marla, where we’ll be spending the night, is visible in a clearing below, but tracing the route from there on is impossible: Mafate’s high ramparts look impenetrable and the forests hide all traces of paths. I feel a frisson of excitement. It’s midmorning but already clouds billow around the high peaks, shrouding, then revealing, jagged ridgelines and dramatic rock formations. This is a real mountain adventure.
Once we’ve had our fill of the magnificent panorama, we head carefully down the loose, rocky path, watching out for slippery rocks and tree roots. Marla is a sizeable settlement, with a bar and restaurant, a campsite and several well-situated gîtes – simple B&B-style establishments. There’s a shop too, though despite advertising itself as a boulangerie (bakery) it doesn’t have bread that day, or much else apart from fizzy drinks, biscuits and tinned vegetables. (A word of warning: If you’re outside the main interior towns of Cilaos and Hell-Bourg, provisions are limited.
Carry your own snacks.)
Our hostess in Marla, Mme Yolande Horeaux, is harvesting fresh greens and nasturtium flowers for salad when we arrive at her gîte. The table is beautifully set and there’s wine in the fridge. I feel a twinge of regret that we didn’t book here for dinner.
The wooden accommodation units are clean and comfortable, with stunning views of the valley. Thanks to solar panels, we also have lighting and hot water.
After a shower, we check the weather forecast and seek advice on the best route to Hell-Bourg, our next stop. When Shaen and I were planning our hike, we considered carrying a tent for extra flexibility, but Ile de la Réunion Tourisme (IRT) suggested we rather stay in gîtes. This plan would lighten our load, but it would also dictate which variants of the GR R1 route we could take. The “official” route takes in La Nouvelle, the biggest settlement on the Cirque de Mafate and a popular destination for day hikers, but it’s a big detour and anyway, all the accommodation there is full. So, our choice is between a direct but steep mountain path over the Col de Fourche, and the slightly longer but easier trail over the Col des Boeufs. We can expect to be hiking for at least eight hours either way, so we’re disappointed to learn that breakfast only starts at 7 am. The possibility of finding a coffee truck at Col des Boeufs is the deciding factor. We’ll go that route.
Supper is a tasty, filling meal of lentils, egg and rice, which we eat sheltering from the drizzle under an umbrella at Le Marla, a vibey snack bar next to the campsite in town. Réunion is a big producer of lentils and they feature large on local menus. Then it’s off to bed to rest tired legs.
DAY 2 MARLA TO HELL-BOURG (23 km) Heaven-Bourg, rather?
We set off before sunrise the next day. The air is crisp and clear, the pre-dawn sky studded with stars. No other humans seem to be awake, but we’re followed by little stonechats that hop from branch to branch. Eventually the sun comes up and catches the high peaks, setting the burnt-orange volcanic cliffs aglow. A triptych of pointed rocks, the iconic Trois Salazes, stands sentinel on the ridge to our right.
Surprise, surprise, it’s another steep climb up to Plaine des Tamarins, where the horizontal trunks of gnarled highland tamarind trees give some indication of the power of the cyclonic winds that sweep the island. Surrounded by carpets of moss and draped with delicate Old Man’s Beard, the forest has a Lord of the Rings feel to it, especially when the mist rolls in.
We’re still debating our options when we reach the turn-off for the Col de Fourche. But coffee is calling, so over the Col des Boeufs we go. It’s a bad call. There’s no coffee truck (sad face) and we have to walk down a dirt road for half an hour before turning onto a forest track again. But, as they say in France, c’est la vie – that’s life. At least we got to see more of the island.
Our reward for the detour is a truly exquisite section of forest. Resplendent with tree ferns, colourful wild ginger, fuchsia and epiphytes, it’s like we’ve dropped into fairyland.
Another section of road takes us down to Le Belier – a popular starting point for the GR R1 and other day hikes because it’s accessible by car. There’s neither gîte nor café in Le Belier, but utilising my best pidgin French, I persuade a kind, elderly woman to give us some hot water for our cafetière (French press). We slink around the corner and, like addicts, inhale the nutty aroma of the coffee.
For the rest of the morning we traverse the hulking peak of Gros Morne in the rain, stopping to eat loquats and swim in the pools of the Fleur Jaune (Yellow Flower) River. A granite stele is a reminder of the instability of these volcanic slopes. Le Grand Sable Monument lists the names of 63 people who were killed by a rock avalanche in November 1875 when a massive chunk of the 3 019 m-high peak came away after heavy rain. Forest yields to farmland and our spirits drop almost as rapidly as the path when we see what lies ahead: Hell-Bourg is high on the other side of a steep ravine. (Did I mention that hiking in Réunion is up-down, up-down?) It seems an eternity before we pass the thermal baths at the entrance to the village.
With narrow streets lined with colourful Creole houses, the inappropriately named HellBourg (after a former governor of the island, Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell) is enchanting – one of Réunion’s cultural gems. After checking
into our dormitory, we dine on chicken and octopus carries (Creole stews) at a little restaurant. Life is good.
DAY 3 HELL-BOURG TO CAVERNE DUFOUR (6,5 km) Communal vibes
Again, there are two route options from HellBourg to our final refuge, Caverne Dufour on the slopes of Piton des Neiges, which we also plan to summit. We’d hoped to take in one of the island’s most pristine forests, Forêt de Bélouve, along the way, but people in HellBourg tell us that sections of the path are just one big quagmire. It would be better to take the direct route up to the plateau.
There’s no rush in the morning, so we have a leisurely start, breakfasting on coffee and fresh croissants at the boulangerie before stocking up with provisions for our summit bid.
Again we’re alone on the path, a magical journey through the forest past ferns and mosses and – in the 1 400 – 1 650 m zone – beautiful pink orchids. We pop out at 2 155 m and stop to take in the view back down into the Cirque de Salazie. The incline eases as we follow a deep track studded with low, scrubby vegetation. Like South Africa’s mountain fynbos, the plants on the windswept lava plateau are resilient.
The trail weaves around to Refuge de la Caverne Dufour, where we find groups of beanie-clad hikers huddled on the veranda and in the spartan dining room, waiting for the gîte to open. The big hiking hut has a real alpine feel about it, with spacious dormitories and shared tables. But what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in warm, friendly service. There are cold showers for the brave, and, amazingly, free hot water for coffee. Best of all, we’re above the clouds. At sunset, we take a couple of beers and our supper to the edge of the mountain.
DAY 4 CAVERNE DUFOUR VIA PITON DES NEIGES TO CILAOS (15 km) Ice in the tropics
We leave the hut two hours before dawn the next morning and pick our way over scree and boulders to the summit of Piton des Neiges. Thick mist engulfs the valleys below, the intervening ridges and smaller peaks sticking up like islands in a frothing sea. The bird’s-eye view helps me understand the unique geology of the island: I can clearly make out the three valleys, shaped like a three-leaf clover, that were born from the collapse of a massive shield volcano once centred on this high point. Jutting out to the south is the 2 631 m Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes. It’s linked to the Piton des Neiges by Réunion’s other long-distance trail, the 140 km GR R2 that traverses the island from north to south.
The mood at the top is festive. It’s wintery at 3 070 m – our breath freezes and ice shatters under our feet. The rocky ridges bristle with silhouetted figures while the headlamps of those still climbing the peak light it up like a Christmas tree. Darkness gives way to a deep blue sky, then pink as the sun starts coming up. Cirrus clouds catch the first rays and turn into brushstrokes of brilliant orange and red. Strangers greet each other as the light warms their faces. It’s as if a new year has dawned, not just a new day.
After exploring the summit ridge, we bound back down to Caverne Dufour for breakfast, then we take the trail back down to Cilaos. All too soon we’re out of the mountains.
Back in South Africa a couple of days later, we learn that Piton de la Fournaise is erupting. It’s hard to resist hopping back on an aeroplane to catch that spectacle – and to hike the GR R2…