GR R1 Tour of Piton des Neiges
GR R1 Tour du Piton des Neiges
A loop around Piton des Neiges, the highest summit of Réunion, linking the three volcanic cirques of Salazie, Mafate and Cilaos.
At a glance
- Loop from and back to
- Hell-Bourg
- Length
- 59 km
- On foot
- ≈ 2–3 days
- Countries
Réunion- Best months
- May–November
About the trail
Piton des Neiges, at 3,071 m, is the highest point of Réunion and the remains of the island's older volcano. Its collapse and erosion carved three vast amphitheatres around the summit, the cirques of Salazie, Mafate and Cilaos, and the GR R1, opened in 1979, makes a circuit through all three.
The loop starts and ends in Hell-Bourg, the old spa village of Salazie, and crosses the high cols that separate the cirques, including the Col de Fourche at 2,009 m. In Mafate there are no roads at all, only footpaths between small hamlets, and the route passes close below the summit near the Caverne Dufour refuge, from where many walkers climb to the top for sunrise.
The GR network's official site gives 58.9 km in six stages, with climbs and descents that are short but very steep. The trail can be walked all year; the dry season runs from May to November and the rainy season from December to April.
Trails it meets
No source gives the days on foot, so they are worked out from the length at 20–25 km a day.