The route
From the village of L'Entre-Deux, the route de la Ravine des Citrons climbs about ten kilometres to its end, at the Dimitile gate car park, at about 1,100 m, where the track starts. The car park has about ten spaces. The track is only open to 4x4s with a permit from the tourist office. No bus serves the start.
The Sentier Bœuf leaves on the left about fifty metres after the start of the track, just past the Argamasse ravine. The climb is steady, with high steps, logs and often slippery roots, through native forest then black wattles, with fine highland tamarinds near the top. On the Dimitile plateau, the Jean Dubard track leads to the edge of the rampart, where the Sentier Jacky Inard starts, marked by a granite plaque.
The ridge begins with a dozen ups and downs among the wattles, with several railed viewpoints over Palmiste Rouge and the Calumets rampart. Higher up, in the heather and ambaville scrub, the path sometimes runs right at the edge of the drop, then follows the arête above the Bras des Roches Noires along long stony stretches. Then come many aluminium ladders, sometimes five in a row, and cables on the rock slabs. The first ladder, almost over the void, gives the best view of the Bonnet de Prêtre. Around 2,300 m, after about four and a half hours of climbing, you come out on a bare, boggy area on the rim of an old crater. The Sommet de l'Entre-Deux is five minutes away. It overlooks Bras Sec and Cilaos, and a nearby viewpoint looks over the Kerveguen plateau.
Go back down the Sentier Jacky Inard to a fork on the left, past the boundary clearing. Then drop through the forest of the Ravine Pieds de Canne, cross a stand of Japanese cedars and follow an almost level path to the chapel on the plateau. From there, the Sentier Bœuf leads back down to the car park.
Staying overnight
On the Dimitile plateau, the Là-Haut gîte has about fifteen places in rooms, with meals. It is booked on +262 692 71 76 68.
Good to know
The Dimitile was a refuge for escaped slaves, the marrons, in the 18th century: the plateau bears the name of the marron leader Dimitile, and a marron camp has been rebuilt there. No water point is known on the way, and clouds often roll into the cirque around 11 am. Set off at dawn, with all your water, warm clothes and good shoes, and turn back at the foot of the ladders if mist or rain sets in. The Sentier Jacky Inard is open according to the ONF, and the Bayonne path, another way up the Dimitile, is closed by prefectoral order. RandoMafate shows the ONF trail closures and the forecast for the hike before you leave, keeps the map offline on a ridge where waymarks are scarce, and your close ones follow your outing on a simple web page, with a notification if your announced return time passes.
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
