Thursday 8 October 2020

Sentier des Cordistes from Moulin Kader

Moulin Kader is a near-derelict old mill at La Montagne which was used for making fibre similar to sisal out of kader (also known as cader or choca) leaves. It's also the start of a hike known as the Sentier des Cordistes as the path (sentier) passes by the top of the gigantic netting that is used to stop rockfalls on the Route du Littoral. These nets are installed and maintained by cordistes (rope access technicians), hence the name of the path. The Route du Littoral, which currently runs at the base of the cliff we were walking on top of, is due to be replaced by a new offshore coastal highway within the next year or two. We had amazing birds-eye views of the road under construction from certain parts of the path.

old and new coastal highways

top of rockfall netting

fastenings at top of rockfall netting (source)

Although I'd walked to the Moulin Kader picnic spot at the start of the hike before, I'd never been any further. The overgrown path was cleared by a local family during Reunion's lockdown and is now much more accessible than it was before.

looking back



some parts of the path have rough steps

looking north-north-east

part of the path


another view looking back

looking out to sea

The hike can be done as a loop, and can be of varying lengths depending on how much of it you do (we only hiked 4 kilometres, for example). For more information on the time and distance see (in French):

me, striding forward!

See also: