Road trip guide: Conquering the Pas de Bellecombe

Pas de Bellecombe is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.361m (7,746ft) above sea level located on the eastern side of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean.

Pas de Bellecombe

What’s at Pas de Bellecombe?

At the summit a parking lot and a snack bar are available to visitors. The summit offers a good point of view over the northeast part of the caldera.

Is the road to Pas de Bellecombe paved?

The road to the caldera is called Route Forestière 5 du Volcan, also known as Volcano Road (Route du Volcan). It’s mostly paved and pretty steep. The last kilometers are on a good gravel road.

How long is the road to Pas de Bellecombe?

The road to the summit is 22.6 km long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 743m. The average gradient is 3.28%.

How to get ready for Pas de Bellecombe?

Do not forget to protect yourself: if the weather is beautiful you can get sunburned (because of the reverberation on the lava), bring a cap and a solar cream. If the weather goes bad, you can hardly see a thing and walking becomes riskier for that reason, always plan "wide" schedules. Due to its elevated position, the area receives considerable amounts of rainfall, especially during tropical storms.

 

 

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