Trou de Fer

Where the Salazie cirque's rim tears open, rivers simply fall in: the Trou de Fer is a green chasm some 300 metres deep into which half a dozen waterfalls pour from the surrounding walls - the Bras de Caverne's main plunge among the island's tallest - meeting in a misty pit that canyoning teams take days to traverse and helicopters circle in the island's signature flight. The walker's version is a gentle, often muddy forest track through the Belouve tamarin woods to a railed lookout on the rim, where the chasm opens theatrical and sudden, cloud willing - and cloud has opinions here.

The landscape

• The chasm lookout - the rim view into the waterfall pit.
• The pouring walls - multiple falls threading the 300-metre drop.
• The Belouve forest walk - mossy tamarin woods on the approach.
• The helicopter angle - the full aerial theatre, budget permitting.

When to go

May to November for drier boards underfoot; be at the lookout by mid-morning - cloud fills the hole most afternoons with total commitment. After heavy rain the falls double and the path becomes a paddle.

Things to know

The viewpoint shows the chasm's upper theatre, not its floor - the full spectacle belongs to helicopters and expert canyoneers; adjust expectations or budgets accordingly. The 'easy' walk is a mud negotiation after any rain - gaiters or sacrificial shoes. Cloud refunds nothing.

Nearby

The Belouve hut and forest, Hell-Bourg's Creole streets and the Salazie waterfall road.

Key facts