The route
From Dos d'Ane church, walk briefly down the road, then past a few houses. The trail soon reaches the rampart of the Rivière des Galets and turns left. The start of the route follows a contour line with a few fairly flat stretches, but the trail quickly becomes more technical. The first views open up over the valley and the mountains of Mafate, notably Piton Cabris, Gros Morne and the Crête d'Aurère.
The descent into the valley has several steep and sometimes exposed passages, with safety cables, slippery rocks and a few ladders. Take note of them: you will climb them again, the other way, at the end of the hike. The trail gradually overlooks Îlet Alcipe and then Îlet Albert before reaching the banks of the Rivière des Galets.
After about an hour's walk, the route fords the Bras de Sainte-Suzanne, usually on large boulders that can be wet. Leave the track that goes up the left bank of the Bras de Sainte-Suzanne and carry on towards Deux Bras, following the Rivière des Galets. The route then alternates between a fairly flat sandy track and stretches of trail that run beside or regularly cross the river.
This is one of the most distinctive parts of the hike: for several kilometres, you walk in the bed of the Rivière des Galets itself, over countless large boulders and through several fords. The river's level and flow can change sharply with the weather, so take particular care after heavy rain.
Further upstream, you pass on your left the trail up to Aurère from La Porte. The route follows the river to an old water-intake dam, whose pipes carry water to the west coast. A tunnel takes you around the dam before you return to the bed of the Rivière des Galets towards Les Lataniers.
Near the Bras d'Oussy, you can already see the footbridge you will cross on the way back. This stretch also has fine passages through the gorges of the Rivière des Galets, with boulders, basins and natural pools. The trail then carries on to the Source des Hirondelles, where the Ravine Grand-Mère, which comes down from Îlet des Orangers, meets the Rivière des Galets.
Here, leave the riverbed for the trail towards Grand Place and Cayenne. The path climbs quickly by about a hundred metres, then evens out towards Cayenne cemetery. Several forks lead to the different trails to Les Lataniers and Grand Place. The trail gradually opens up superb views of Piton des Calumets, whose distinctive silhouette towers over the valley.
Carry on towards Grand Place, then fork off towards Cayenne. The trail crosses the Ravine Fontaine beneath the water pipes that supply the houses before reaching the first Creole houses of the îlet. Cayenne deserves a proper break: this Mafate îlet is known for its flowers, its calm and its traditional character. It has a small chapel and gîtes, so you can spend the night in the cirque.
For the way back, don't retrace the same route. From Cayenne, follow the Piton Tortue trail towards the Bras d'Oussy footbridge. At the junction with the path you came up, carry straight on instead of heading back down to the Rivière des Galets. A few hundred metres further, a short detour leads to Cayenne cemetery, where people from the surrounding îlets are buried.
The trail then climbs steadily to the col du Piton Tortue. Beyond the pass, the descent crosses drier, more open vegetation, at times almost like savannah. Many viewpoints look out over the Bras d'Oussy and the Rivière des Galets. Some passages are steep, on sandy and slippery ground, but the section is now made safer by handrails.
The descent soon reaches the Bras d'Oussy footbridge, suspended above the canyon. Crossing it gives a striking view of the Bras d'Oussy and the surrounding cliffs. After the footbridge, the trail climbs gradually, with fresh views of the canyon, the footbridge and the peaks of Mafate, before dropping back down to the Rivière des Galets at La Porte.
What remains is a long, fairly flat stretch to Deux Bras, with several passages where the trail runs beside or crosses the Rivière des Galets again. The Bras de Sainte-Suzanne crossing is a good place for a break before tackling the last and hardest part of the hike: the climb back up to Dos d'Ane.
The final climb gradually takes you back over the technical passages from the start of the route, including the steep sections fitted with cables and ladders. After several hours of walking and many crossings of the Rivière des Galets, this last ascent can be particularly gruelling. The trail finally reaches the Dos d'Ane rampart, then the houses and Dos d'Ane church, where this long loop ends.
This hike takes in a wide variety of northern Mafate landscapes: Dos d'Ane, the Rivière des Galets, Deux Bras, Cayenne, Piton Tortue and the Bras d'Oussy. It alternates mountain trails, sandy tracks, rocky passages, steep descents, many fords and river crossings, tunnels and a suspension footbridge. The main difficulty comes at the end, with the long climb from Deux Bras back up to Dos d'Ane, when you are already tired. To cut the distance and the climb, you can start directly at Deux Bras, which you can reach by 4x4 taxi from the Rivière des Galets.
Where to stay
RandoMafate lists one gîte in Cayenne. A night there splits this long loop in two and leaves the climb back to Dos d'Âne for the next morning.
Good to know
This loop crosses many fords: check RandoMafate before you set off. Météo-France weather warnings come as notifications, hikers who went before you flag flooded ravines, and the people close to you can follow your hike and be alerted if you are not back on time. The map itself works offline all the way down in the Rivière des Galets.
Plan this hike in RandoMafate
The trail map offline, elevation to the metre, ONF closures and the weather for the day, and the people close to you told when you set off and when you are back.
RandoMafate
