The route
From the car park at Le Bloc, at 1,380 m, the trail climbs straight into the forest, with no warm-up. The switchbacks are steep, cut with steps and roots, through the highland "bois de couleurs" of the Matarum biological reserve. The forest leaves few views of the cirque, but a wooden lookout on the way shows Cilaos, and at the col, at the top of the rampart, the whole way you have climbed opens up at once.
Halfway up, the shelter of the Plateau du Petit Matarum makes a good break. Around 2,000 m the forest thins out and gives way to green branles and highland heather. The gradient doesn't ease, though. You reach the Caverne Dufour gîte, at 2,475 m, by a short descent just after the col, after three to four hours of climbing depending on your pace. This is the classic stop: an early dinner and an early night.
From the gîte to the summit there is a little under 600 m of ascent left, one to two hours. The trail first crosses big lava blocks just after the gîte, then climbs the scoria and lapilli of the cone, marked with white paint and cairns. Most hikers set off around 4 am by headtorch to watch the sun rise over the whole island: the three cirques, the Piton de la Fournaise to the south and the ocean all around. It is cold up there, often below freezing in the southern winter, and the wind makes it worse: a hat, gloves and a windproof layer are not too much.
The descent follows the same trail. The steps that tired your thighs on the way up tire your knees on the way down, and poles help. From the gîte, two variants avoid coming back the same way. Towards Bras Sec, the Coteau Kerveguen trail drops in about an hour to the road, over rocky ground fitted with nine ladders and cables, airy in places. Towards Hell-Bourg, the GR R1 goes over the Cap Anglais and down by Terre Plate or by Bélouve: long, muddy and very steep, and that side often closes after heavy rain.
The only water on the route is an intake at the Plateau du Petit Matarum shelter, often dry. The gîte sells bottled water and drinks but does not refill bottles: carry two to three litres per person.
Where to sleep
The Caverne Dufour gîte, open all year, is the only accommodation on the route. Book online at reunion.fr or by phone on +262 262 90 78 78, as early as you can: it is often full. In 2026, count on €20 a night in a dormitory, €27 for dinner and €7 for breakfast. Dinner must be booked at least 48 hours ahead, and camping around the refuge is not allowed.
Good to know
Mobile signal is patchy at the gîte: to be sure of a connection, walk ten minutes back up to the viewpoint over Cilaos, at the top of the Le Bloc trail. A night at the gîte therefore often leaves the people close to you without news for nearly twenty-four hours. With RandoMafate, the map and the elevation work offline all the way to the summit, and the people close to you follow your hike on a simple web page, with the return time you announced. The massif's trails close after cyclones and heavy rain: RandoMafate shows ONF closures and the weather for the day before you set off.
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
