RandoMafate

South of Réunion Island

Piton de Bert from the Plaine des Sables

Moderate
Distance6.3km
Ascent20m
Estimated time1 h 25
One way2,255 – 2,345 m−80 m of descentStart Parking de Foc-Foc
  • Plaine des Sables
  • Lapilli and lava flows
  • Almost flat
  • GR R2
  • View over the Enclos
  • No shade or water
  • National Park core
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The Piton de Bert, at 2,274 m, stands on the edge of the rampart between the Foc-Foc plateau and the Enclos Fouqué. From the Foc-Foc car park on the Volcano road, the GR R2 leads there almost on the flat across lapilli and lava flows, and the National Park presents it as a prime spot for watching eruptions. Allow 6.3 km out, with 20 m of climbing, and the same back along the same path. The piton is named after Alexis Bert, an officer who described the 1791 eruption, and was given that name by Bory de Saint-Vincent in 1801.

Map and profile

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

Croisée Sentier J. Payet GRR2Piton de Bert Start 1 km
2,300 m2,400 m Parking de Foc-FocCroisée Sentier J. Payet GRR2Piton de Bert 02 km4 km6 km 2,300 m2,400 m Piton de Bert 02 km4 km6 km
One way, 6.3 km · +20 m / −80 m
Stops: markers on the trace and on the profile

Stops

  1. Parking de Foc-FocPlacekm 0.0
  2. Croisée Sentier J. Payet GRR2Placekm 4.9 2,252 m
  3. Piton de BertSummitkm 6.3 2,263 m

In pictures

On the trail · km 1.9
On the trail · km 2.2
On the trail · km 3.5
On the trail · km 5.8
Piton de Bert
Trail statusNo known closure on this route
Checked on 7 October 2026 · ONF ordersClosed trails in the south of the island →

The route

The Volcano road leaves the RN3 at Bourg-Murat, by the Cité du Volcan, crosses the Pas des Sables, then runs across the Plaine des Sables on a scoria track limited to 40 km/h. The Foc-Foc car park is on the right, about two kilometres before Pas de Bellecombe. It holds several hundred cars, but fills up during eruptions.

The Plaine des Sables sank in two stages, 65,000 and then 40,000 years ago, before lava flows filled it. The eruption of the Piton Chisny, about a thousand years ago, covered it with lapilli, the scoria "sands" that give the plateau its lunar look. The path, the GR R2 that the ONF calls the Tremblet path, leaves the car park with white and red waymarks. It soon passes the Chisny cave, a lava tube that gives shelter from the rain, then crosses a field of lapilli and passes a small lava-stone shrine. It keeps crossing a 4x4 track and gives a view of the three pitons, the Chisny, the Demi-Piton and the Piton Haüy.

The ground alternates lava slabs, lapilli and loose stones, and turns muddy in the rain. After the Bellecombe ash fields, leave aside the Jacques Payet path, which drops towards Basse-Vallée. The path then crosses an area burnt in the July 2017 fire before reaching the Piton de Bert, at the edge of the drop. The view plunges into the Enclos and reaches the cone of Piton de la Fournaise. A webcam of the volcano observatory stands there. The way back is the same.

Good to know

The Plaine des Sables has neither shade nor drinking water, and the weather changes fast: the Park advises setting off around 8 am, before the midday clouds and rain, with warm clothes, a windproof and sun protection. In fog, the plain loses all its landmarks. A small shrine near the start is thought to remember two hikers who got lost and died in 1976. The Piton de Bert lies outside the Enclos and its restrictions, but an eruption can close the area or jam the road. RandoMafate keeps the map offline and your track visible when fog wipes out the plain, shows the ONF trail closures and the forecast for the hike before you leave, and your close ones follow your outing on a simple web page.

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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.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to reach the Piton de Bert?

Allow about three and a half to four hours there and back from the Foc-Foc car park, a little under two hours of it on the way out. RandoMafate estimates 1 h 25 of walking for the way out, without breaks.

Can you go with children?

Yes, it can be a family outing: the climb is small and the path waymarked. Keep them close at the rampart edge at the Piton de Bert, and bring warm layers, as it is often cold and windy at 2,300 m.

Can you watch an eruption from the Piton de Bert?

It is one of the eruption viewing sites listed in the ORSEC plan, when the eruption is inside the Enclos. But during an eruption the road and car park are jammed, and the authorities can close the path after a check: follow the prefecture's announcements.

Can you go down into the Enclos from the Piton de Bert?

No. No official path goes down into the Enclos from there. The Enclos is only entered from Pas de Bellecombe, on the waymarked paths opened by prefectoral order.

More hikes in the south of the island