West of Réunion Island

The Grand Bénare from the Maïdo via the Grand Bord and La Glacière

Very hard

Distance15.4km

Ascent670m

Estimated time4 h 50

Loop2,171 – 2,891 m−680 m of descentStart Maïdo (belvédère)

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The Grand Bénare, at 2,898 m, is the third-highest summit of Réunion Island, after the Piton des Neiges and the Gros Morne. It stands on the rampart that separates Mafate from Cilaos. From the Maïdo, this 15.4 km loop climbs it along the Grand Bord trail, which follows the ridge above the cirque, and comes back down via La Glacière, with 670 m of ascent.

Map and profile

Hover over the profile or the trace: the marker follows on both.

Loop, 15.4 km · +670 m / −680 mStops: markers on the trace and on the profile

Stops

Maïdo (belvédère)Placekm 0.0
Sentier de bordPlacekm 5.1 2,615 m
Grand BénareSummitkm 7.4 2,891 m
La GlacièrePlacekm 10.5 2,482 m

In pictures

Trail statusClosed right now: Piste DFCI de la Glacière

An ONF order closes a stretch of this route. It cannot be walked as described.

See the closure →Checked on 7 October 2026 · ONF orders

The route

The start is at the Maïdo, at the end of the forest road up from Saint-Paul, at nearly 2,200 m. From the first metres, the Grand Bord trail runs along the Mafate rampart and the drop is right there on your left: you look down on Roche Plate, the Îlet des Orangers and the Bronchard, with the Rivière des Galets far below. The climb is steady, through branles and heather, with a few steeper sections on the ridge.

Viewpoints follow one another along the crest. The Piton des Neiges, hidden behind the Gros Morne on the way up, only comes into view at the top. The ridge widens as you near the end, and the Grand Bénare turns out to be a broad plateau rather than a peak. On a clear day you see both cirques at once: Mafate on one side, Cilaos on the other with the Îlet à Cordes below, and the Piton des Neiges towering over them.

The way back drops down the western side, on a gentle slope, to the site of La Glacière. Around 1830, pits were dug into the basalt there to store the ice that formed in winter. Until slavery was abolished in 1848, enslaved people carried these blocks, wrapped in jute sacks and sawdust, some sixty kilometres down to the estates of the lowlands, such as Madame Desbassyns' Villèle estate. From La Glacière, the path leads back to the Grand Bord trail and the Maïdo.

There is neither water nor shade along the whole ridge. Fog usually rises from Mafate from 9 or 10 am and wipes out the view and the trail alike: set off at dawn to be on the summit early in the morning.

Good to know

The Maïdo forest road has no night closure, but the ONF closes it from time to time for works, races such as the Grand Raid, or fire risk. Until 18 December 2026, the first two kilometres of the La Glacière track from the OPAR junction are closed every day for repair works, and can be bypassed by the Grand Bord trail. On this ridge the fog comes in fast and the cairns get lost: RandoMafate keeps the map and your position offline, shows ONF closures and the weather for the day before you drive up the Maïdo road, and the people close to you see where you are without installing anything.

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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.