Cirque de Mafate

Cirque de Mafate is a cirque in Réunion National Park, the western of the three craters on the extinct volcano Piton des Neiges on the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Due to the lack of an access road, the Cirque de Mafate is only accessible on foot and from the air and is highly attractive hiking terrain in a wild, rugged volcanic landscape with a tropical-exotic natural area. As part of the "inner zone" of the Réunion National Park, which was founded in 2007, the valley basin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Settlements
In the basin there are about ten villages, the "Ilets", mostly with scattered settlement character and a total of about 800 inhabitants. The hamlets are all in flood-safe locations on plateaus and are separated from each other by steep gorges.
 * (approx. 1400 m), the "new settlement" with the most modern "infrastructure" (school, church built in 1976) and with 137 inhabitants according to the 1999 census also the largest settlement.
 * (approx. 900 m), located almost centrally in the crater basin, consisting of the three districts "GP Ecole", "GP Les Hauts" and "Cayenne".
 * (ca. 830 m), northeasternmost settlement at the foot of the ridge "Crête de la Marianne".
 * (approx. 850 m)
 * , immediately at the foot of the western crater rim.
 * (1100 m), most easily reached from the Maïdo viewpoint, the village has a village shop and a school built in 1953.
 * (930 m), population approx. 90, bar, shop.
 * (ca. 1600 m), the southernmost of the settlements at the crossing to the Cirque de Cilaos and at the foot of the rock group Trois Salazes, easiest to reach from Cilaos via the pass Col du Taïbit (2142 m). The name comes from the Malagasy marolahy, meaning many people: the hamlet used to house several hundred people and was the largest settlement in the Cirque; today it has a good twenty inhabitants.
 * (ca. 1600 m), the southernmost of the settlements at the crossing to the Cirque de Cilaos and at the foot of the rock group Trois Salazes, easiest to reach from Cilaos via the pass Col du Taïbit (2142 m). The name comes from the Malagasy marolahy, meaning many people: the hamlet used to house several hundred people and was the largest settlement in the Cirque; today it has a good twenty inhabitants.

History
The crater basin got its name from the island's legendary slave Mafat, who fled to the basin in the middle of the 18th century, but was caught there by the equally legendary slave hunter Mussard.

The basin has an elliptical shape with an extension of about 14 kilometers from north to south and about 7 kilometers from east to west. The settlements are at altitudes ranging from about 800 to 1600 metres, the lowest point in the Cirque de Mafate is in the north at about 280 meters above sea level, from here the basin is through the "Riviere des Galets" to the northwest dehydrated.

The Cirque de Mafate is public (state) property and managed by the island's Department of Forestry. The inhabitants are all tenants of huts and land and live almost exclusively from tourism. In addition, some agriculture and animal husbandry (chickens, sometimes pigs and game) are mostly operated for personal use. The standard of living is very low due to the lack of road connections and the lack of connection to the electricity grid, but immigration is still strictly regulated and for non-residents it is practically only possible by marriage. There is no handicraft or even industry.

There are also strict building regulations: The huts are only permitted in wood, only the floor slab may be made of solid concrete. Because of the devastating force of the cyclones, only a single-storey construction is possible in the first place.

The area of the Cirque de Mafate belongs entirely to the inner zone of the Réunion National Park, the rugged relief of the crater basin has probably two formation mechanisms analogous to the Cirque de Cilaos and Cirque de Salazie.

Since 2010, the cirque has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the "Inner Zone" of the Réunion National Park, which was founded in 2007.

Landscape
The highest peaks, or more correctly "crater rim spots," are Gros Morne (3019 m) to the south-east and Grand Bénare (2898 m) to the south of the basin. The summit of Grand Bénare is the highest point of the crater rim here and rises up to about 1600 metres above the floor of the basin north of Marla.

After the emptying of the magma chamber during one of the last eruptions of the Piton des Neiges volcano and the collapse of the volcanic vent, a caldera was formed.

The "erosive slope development" as a result of the special circumstances in Réunion with high rainfall on the steep slopes and a special chemistry due to the acid input of the tropical vegetation into the rock then formed the deeply incised channels and "slope drains".

Flora and fauna
Most conspicuous in the animal world are the many silk spiders, which are up to the size of the palm of a hand and are completely harmless to humans: The spider web can grow to several metres in size and sometimes runs directly along or over the hiking trail with an extremely stable main thread. The male is significantly smaller than the female, also sits at the nest, but is easily overlooked.

The birdlife is also interesting: the most common is the tec-tec, a species of bird endemic to the island. The biggest issue of the animal world on the island is also evident in the bird whelping, these are the rats brought in by the Europeans, which are a serious problem for the young birds: before human settlement there were no mammals (apart from bats) on the island.

There are no animals that are dangerous to humans.

The most striking plant forms in the Cirque are the tamarind forests and the agaves, which bloom loosely around ten meters high.

Climate
The Cirque de Mafate is the most southwesterly and thus the driest of the three cirques on the Piton des Neiges volcano, but afternoon showers are more likely even in the temperate season from May to October.

As the island of Réunion is not particularly big, see Réunion for detailed information about the island's climate.

Get in

 * Access from the north-west is possible from the Dos d'Ane (elv. almost 1,000 m) with a fairly long route via the GRR2, access also via the valley of the Riviere de Galets to La Porte or Les Deux Bras at the north-west end of the basin.
 * From the west, the descent is possible from the Maïdo viewpoint (2205 m), the shortest and most comfortable entry with over 1100m of descent, but also the most strenuous exit.
 * Another access leads from Sans Souci via the "Canalisation des orangers". Although the path is long, it runs almost horizontally along the cliff on a drinking water pipe that serves to supply Saint-Paul.
 * From the south, the valley basin can be reached from the directly adjacent Cirque de Cilaos via the Col du Taïbit pass (2142 m) (up to a good five hours from Cilaos)
 * From the east, there are two transitions from neighbouring Cirque de Salazie:
 * From Col de Boeuf (1,940 m) or the neighbouring Col de Fourche with a long journey via a forest road and paid parking at the Col Petit.
 * From Bord Martin (about 2 km before Col Petit) via the "Sentier Scout" or "Augustave" hiking trails.

Get around
Hiking is your only way to get around Cirque de Mafate.

See

 * See the numerous waterfalls in the entire area of the basin.
 * Les Trois Roches is a striking forest clearing with a waterfall over rock slabs and striking rock formations on the way from Roche Plate to the south (Marla or La Nouvelle).
 * Plaine des Tamarins is high plateau in the southeast of the cirque with a remarkable forest of trees typical of the island.

Maïdo
The Maïdo (2,205 m) is a viewpoint on the western crater rim of the Cirque de Mafate and one of the best viewpoints over the Cirque.

Access to the Maïdo is possible from the west coast (Saint Paul) via a winding road. This makes the Maïdo the easiest vantage point to access right on the edge of the crater.

From the Maïdo it is possible to access and descend into the Cirque de Mafate with connection to one of the route variants of the long-distance hiking trail GR R2.

Hiking
The crater basin is a well-developed hiking area and is crossed by about ten hiking routes, including two of the three long-distance hiking trails on the island (GR R1 and GR R2) with several variant routes.

The hiking trails certainly have steeper passages, some with spectacular views, but are not at risk of falling for "experienced" hikers and are generally well maintained. Of course, destruction of the trail network after storms cannot be ruled out. It is advisable to enquire at the responsible Maison de la Montagne in Saint-Denis before starting the tour to catch up We also recommend the ONF website, where the accessibility of all hiking trails on the island is updated daily if necessary. In general, all important paths are marked with gates at their starting points, which use pictograms to provide information about the character and difficulty of the route. If the gate is closed with a wooden beam, the path is considered closed by decree of the prefect and should not be used under any circumstances. High fines could result.

The greatest danger for hikers in the damp weather after rainfall is the greasy route and the then dangerously smooth basalt stones, but the route also dries up quickly. Fog is easily possible, but due to the dense vegetation away from the hiking trails, deviating or even straying from the specified route is largely impossible.

The vegetation tends to be bushy and rarely provides shade. Due to the altitude with the rather poorly ventilated basin area and the warm, humid to muggy air combined with strong sunshine, the demands on the circulation should not be underestimated. For the specialists, there are no other options for leisure activities than hiking and climbing due to the lack of infrastructure in the Cirque de Mafate.

Buy
The larger settlements have their own "village shop". In addition to drinking water and a selection of foodstuffs such as beverage cans and alcoholic beverages (beer, wine), you can also buy chocolate or other sweets. General articles for daily needs or even pieces of equipment are not to be expected in the range.

Eat
In the mountain huts there is simple Creole cuisine with rice, legume sauce and meat stew, all well seasoned, plus one or two exotic fruits from their own garden. The food portions in the evening are certainly sufficient, but the choice is limited to the same standard menu for all guests. The breakfast usually consists of baked frozen baguette with some jam. For tours lasting several days, it is therefore advisable to also bring your own provisions.

The range of drinks includes coffee, chocolate or cappuccino, wine, the island beer "Dodo" and various canned drinks, the price is around each. In almost all settlements there are "snack bars" or even an auberge, but you shouldn't place much higher demands on the food and drink menu here than on the selection of cuisine in the other huts in the region.

Go next

 * Explore the many other parts of Réunion National Park