Access by car: from Plaine des Palmistes via the Bébour-Bélouve forest road.
These native mountain forests are among the largest on the island. Their exceptional biodiversity gives them a special place in the heart of the National Park and the UNESCO World Heritage site. Their extent and exceptional state of conservation make them undoubtedly the most remarkable on the island. Highly humid, they take on the appearance of an impenetrable thicket of vegetation from which tree ferns emerge, with their twisted, tangled trees covered in epiphytes. We call this a cloud forest.
Flora
These forests are rich in flora, and are home to at least 60 species of orchid. Depending on altitude, the vegetation ranges from tropical rainforests to high mountain moors. You’ll be in the heart of mountain forests at altitudes of between 1,300 and 1,800 metres: mahots (shrub), fanjans (tree fern) and Hauts Tamarind forests. The latter is used in cabinetmaking.
Wildlife
The birds that frequent these forests are mainly passerines endemic to the island. A total of 16 species have been recorded as regularly nesting in this area, 6 of which are endemic to Réunion: Papangue, Country Robin (or Bul-Bul), Oiseau la Vierge, Tec-Tec, Oiseau-Lunettes Gris and Oiseau-Lunettes Vert.
