OUEN TORO

In the axis of Pointe Magnin, just south of the city, Ouen Toro is a hill of 128 m altitude. The slopes are classified as a botanical reserve with nearly 50 hectares of chlorophyll.

If you have a car, turn left at the first intersection after Le Méridien. On foot, take the Ouen Toro road for 350 m after the Vernier Drive intersection (the road that runs along Anse Vata). Then take the footpath on your right.

Good to know: there is only one water point on site. Therefore, plan to bring a drink. The walk lasts about an hour. You will cover 3 km of trail under the dry forest.

Leave in the morning or in the evening, knowing that in the late afternoon the sunset is superb. On the first two hundred meters, the vegetation is essentially made up of guaiac trees, some sandalwoods and false pepper trees. From there, you can take nice pictures of the "île aux Canards" and the columnar pines. At the crossroads, the left track leads to an old silica quarry. Prefer the right track which crosses sections of forest. Continue for 300 m. At the next crossroads, the path on the left joins the quarry; the one on the right goes down in the middle of the guaiac trees. Continue for about 200 m on the right track. You will then reach a new junction. On the right, you go back down to the Pierre-Vernier promenade. Choose the left track which goes straight into the forest. After 200 m, you leave the forest and follow the path that winds up the hillside. You will have a beautiful view on the lagoon, the islets of Sainte-Marie and the bay of the same name. Continue for 400 m. You have two options: go out on the Vernier promenade or take the very steep slope that accesses a dome covered with grass. Take your camera, the panorama is superb. You are on the launching pad for hang gliders and paragliders. The path continues to the northwest. After a hundred meters, a track starts on the left. It allows to access the quarry and to come back to the starting point. Keep going! On your right, the path leads after 200 m to another old quarry; 150 m further on, you arrive at the paved road of a housing estate, then at the road to Ouen Toro. Continue walking 500 m downhill and you will find your car. It is a superb walk, you will meet nature lovers who, organized in association, replant the original species.