Hike, creole lunch & helicopter - Bras de La Plaine

Between the land, water and sky

Corail Hélicoptères invites you to discover one of the most authentic and inaccessible places on the island, the Bras de la Plaine.

The Reunion mountains are covered in hundreds of ravines, small streams that flow like torrents after heavy tropical rains and virtually disappear into the vegetation the rest of the year. This morning, our guide Patrice is taking us on the Petite Ravine trail.

Hugging the side of the rampart, the trail descends to the bottom of one of the deepest gorges on Reunion Island, in the south of the island: Bras de la Plaine. Patrice points out guavas, small red berries which taste like strawberries, and the many medicinal plants that grow by the side of the path. After walking for two hours, with some vertiginous passages and acrobatic crossings, we arrive in an authentic “table d’hôtes”, located at the heart of this hidden treasure.

A little piece of paradise

This hosts give us a particularly warm welcome. The dish of the day is simmering on the wood fire. We are soon enjoying a succulent chicken cari with melt in the mouth squash, all served on a banana leaf. Our hosts tell us hundreds of Creole stories, while opening bottles of flavoured rums made by them.

Return by air

We hear the sound of the river singing, a hundred meters below. The afternoon passes gently; sadly, the time to leave approaches. We decided to test something new – returning by helicopter. It will be our first time! We hear the chopper approaching. It lands not far from the lodge.

A gamut of emotions. The pilot reassures us as he makes a series of tight turns to gain altitude and rise above the ramparts of Bras de la Plaine. Before heading to the heliport, we fly over landscape worthy of Jurassic Park, tiny villages nestled in the forest. The ultimate day, just like Reunion Island!

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