TOPO Hiking | CLIMBING7.COM

Chemin pavé de Bellemène, Saint-Paul

Publié le 9 March 2018 | Reunion Island

From the heights of Saint-Paul, the paved Bellemène path, dating from the 18th century, has been redeveloped and offers a pleasant walk up or down the gentle slopes leading down to the sea. The area is quite bucolic and the view over the west coast quite panoramic, but the path is actually quite short and would benefit from being extended or connected with other trails. A short family stroll or a refresher course.

Technical summary

Type ✦ Hiking

Location ✦ Bellemène

Region ✦ Saint-Paul

Country ✦ La Réunion

Length ✦ 5,5kms

Vertical drop ✦ 90m

Difficulty ✦ F

Duration ✦ 1h to 1h30

Interest ✦ ★

Access to the place

If going downhill, go to Bellemène, at the very bottom of the village. If you're going uphill, go to Saint-Paul, on the Tour des Roches road as far as the trail sign, and park at the top of the street. In both cases, you'll need 2 vehicles, or plan to hitchhike back.

Map & topo

Voir en plein écran

Itinerary description

Hiking to the start 2'

From the top at Bellemène, depending on where you park, walk along the road to reach the well-signposted trailhead.

Course

The trail has a westerly exposure, as it mainly overlooks the coast around Saint-Paul. If you can do it in 2 directions, up or down, the downhill seems preferable to enjoy the view at your leisure. Or you could do it on the way up and back, to lengthen the effort a little or avoid car logistics. There are no difficulties on the path, which is gently sloping and very well laid out.

From the top, the path twists and turns over the grassy back of the hill as it descends to the coastal plateau. Lower down, there are more twists and turns, some of them shorter, which end in a wide final traverse and lead to the Chemin des Cèdres, the end of the walk.