Cirque de Mafate

Mafate is a cirque, a vast amphitheatre left by the collapse of the Piton des Neiges volcano, and it is the only inhabited part of France with no road to it: around eight hundred people live in a scattering of hamlets called ilets, reached only by footpath, with supplies and building materials flown in by helicopter. Escaped slaves took refuge here in the eighteenth century and the place names carry that history. It is inscribed within the UNESCO property covering the island's pitons, cirques and remparts.

The landscape

• The ilets - hamlets such as La Nouvelle, Marla and Roche Plate, reached only on foot.
• The remparts - the near-vertical walls enclosing the cirque on all sides.
• The helicopter supply - the only way goods reach the villages.
• The footpath network - the trails linking the ilets and the passes out.

When to go

May to November is the dry season and the best for walking. Cyclones between December and March can close paths for weeks. Gites must be booked well ahead in season.

Before you go

There is no road and no way in except on foot, several hours minimum from any trailhead. Gites are basic and must be booked; turning up without a booking is a mistake. Paths are steep, exposed and dangerous in wet weather.

Nearby

Le Maido is on the rim, and Cirque de Salazie is east.

Key facts