The GR R2, Réunion Island’s longest hiking trail, covers 120 miles from Saint-Denis to Le Baril. It demands endurance and rewards hikers with three massive volcanoes, isolated valleys, and terrain that shifts from dense rainforest to barren volcanic plains. Yet it also tests even the most prepared with injuries, sudden weather shifts, and paths that erase any sense of forward movement.
A hiker’s journey began with an injury on the fourth day. Descending toward the Rivière des Galets in Mafate—a valley so remote that supplies arrive only by foot or helicopter—they twisted an ankle. The pain was sharp, the kind that twists ligaments like paper. By the time they reached the riverbank, swelling the size of a Creme Egg had formed. Cold water and painkillers eased the discomfort, but the hike’s pace had already slowed to a crawl.
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Mafate is the trail’s most demanding section. The cliffs rise vertically from the valley floor, and the only access is on foot. Helicopter rescues are rare, and the idea of ending the hike that way was unacceptable. With 11 days remaining, the choice was no longer about quitting but about how to continue.
A pilgrimage, not a race
The GR R2 shares similarities with Réunion’s notorious Diagonale des Fous, a 100-mile trail run where elite athletes finish in under 24 hours. This hike, however, unfolds at a slower pace, more like a deliberate, grueling pilgrimage. The official route avoids the three summits, Roche Écrite, Piton des Neiges, and Piton de la Fournaise, but optional detours add 20 miles of steep climbs. Skipping them would be like visiting a Michelin-starred restaurant and ordering plain fries instead.
On the first day, the trail climbs 1,800 meters through subtropical rainforest, where humidity clings to the skin. By mid-morning, the air is thick with the scent of damp earth and occasional rain, though no one bothers with waterproof gear when sweat already dominates. Red-legged orb-weaver spiders create delicate webs glistening with dew, their legs striped in black and orange. The path teems with life: land snails glide over fallen leaves, and the occasional rhythm of a kayamb, a Réunionese shaker instrument resembling a straw mat, drifts from a refuge below.
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By lunchtime, the group reaches Refuge de la Roche Écrite, a basic shelter where wardens serve rhum arrangé, a flavored rum, and play impromptu drum circles on djembés, African wooden drums. The ground is soaked, with rain seeping upward through the saturated soil. That night, the celebration continues outside the tents, blending drums, laughter, and the sound of dripping water from the canopy.
Summits and the relentless climb-descend cycle
At dawn, they summit Roche Écrite, their first peak. The clouds below drift like smoke, and the Indian Ocean shimmers in the distance. For a moment, the effort feels justified, until the descent begins. The trail consists of endless climbs and descents, with no flat sections until day nine. The rhythm becomes mechanical: step up, step down, repeat. The body adjusts, or at least pretends to.
Mafate dominates the next five days. The villages cling to cliffs painted in bright hues, while waterfalls crash into rivers far below. The terrain is misleading: what appears gentle often hides a river crossing or a loose scree slope that sends hikers sliding backward. By day three, the ankle injury worsens. Medication and cold soaks become a routine, but the swelling does not improve.
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Piton des Neiges: beauty and peril in the clouds
Piton des Neiges, the island’s highest peak, is a dangerous scramble over shale and volcanic rock. By the time they emerge from the clouds, only four other hikers remain. The view is breathtaking: peaks rise from the mist like islands in cotton, bathed in golden light. The descent, however, is far more difficult. Slipping on loose rock in the dark, they rely on headlamps until the refuge’s dorms reappear.
The final stretch, 15 miles and 2,300 meters of elevation loss, proves the most challenging. By day 11, most companions have dropped out. The terrain resembles a Martian environment: volcanic rock stretches endlessly, marked only by dirt roads that cut like scars. Water is scarce, and the trail follows a ridge overlooking Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. The final summit had been spewing lava repeatedly in the months leading up to the hike, with the most recent eruption just weeks earlier.