Falling 640 metres, Cascade Blanche is one of France's highest waterfalls, and Reunion's third-highest (the tallest is Trou de Fer). Often associated with Salazie as it lies near the entrance to the cirque, in fact it technically falls within the municipality of Bras Panon. It's very visible on the drive in and out of Salazie cirque, although on the way in you have to look back over your shoulder just past Pisse en l'Air to see it.
Cascade Blanche |
Getting to a good viewpoint just opposite the waterfall is a fairly easy 35-minute hike, although actually getting to the foot of the waterfall is a little more "athletic" (it involves fording a river, wading through muddy channels, and clambering over large boulders).
sign near the start of the hike |
Forestry Commission sign at start of hike, warning that part of the pathway is unstable |
a species of Heliconia growing wild |
part of path |
sign at the viewpoint marking the end of the maintained path. While it doesn't forbid from going any further, it warns hikers to watch out for flash floods in the river |
view of Cascade Blanche from the viewpoint |
After cooling our heels ankles in the river (called Bras de Caverne), we then made our way to the foot of the waterfall where we took a dip in the water before making our way back.
Might be of interest: Cascade Blanche on the World Waterfall Database
If you read/understand French you can find out more about the hike here:
- Randopitons
- Visorando
- Tripadvisor
- National Park factsheet about the hike and what there is to see
- Habiter à la Réunion
- CartedelaReunion.fr
- Wikipedia
See also: