Best waterfalls and natural pools in Réunion

Freshwater, not the lagon: the rule that actually matters here

Réunion’s waterfalls and river pools sit in a different category from the beaches around Saint-Gilles-les-Bains and the Hermitage. Those are lagon swimming, protected by a reef and governed by shark-related restrictions on where you can go in the sea. Waterfalls and natural pools are river water, and the rule that matters for them is different: avoid swimming in fresh water for a few days after heavy rain, because run-off can carry the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. It’s a genuine, documented risk on the island, not a scare story, and it has nothing to do with sharks. If a river looks brown, fast, or has clearly risen, wait.

This page is about the waterfalls and pools themselves — where the water is, how to reach it, and what to check before you go. For panoramic viewpoints without a swim, see best viewpoints in Réunion. For the long treks toward Mafate or the Piton des Neiges, those are covered separately; this list sticks to sites where the water is the destination.

Voile de la Mariée — Salazie

The Voile de la Mariée (“bridal veil”) is the best-known waterfall image on the island: a set of thin cascades dropping down a cliff face along the road into Salazie, Réunion’s greenest cirque. It’s visible from a roadside pull-off on the way up from Saint-André, with no walk required, which is why it appears on almost every day trip itinerary.

• Access: by car, on the RN3 road into Salazie, roughly 45 minutes from Saint-André and about 1 hour 15 from Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, including the winding final stretch.
• Swimming: the pool at the base is not maintained as a swimming spot and is often reduced to a trickle in the dry season or swollen and unsafe to approach after rain. Treat this as a photo stop, not a bathing destination.
• Climate note: Salazie is on the wetter, eastern side of the island, so the waterfall is more dramatic — and the road more prone to closures — after heavy rain than in the drier winter months.

Salazie has other cascades further up the valley, including several visible from Hell-Bourg, and the Trou de Fer canyon (seen from a distance at Bélouve) is one of the largest waterfall systems on the island, reached by a separate, longer hike or by helicopter. If you want the full cirque in a day, Salazie day trip from Saint-Gilles lays out a realistic loop.

Anse des Cascades — Sainte-Rose, east coast

On the east coast near Sainte-Rose, the Anse des Cascades is a small cove where several streams drop straight into the sea through a coconut grove. It’s one of the easiest waterfall stops on the island logistically: flat ground, a car park a few steps from the water, and picnic tables under the palms.

• Access: a short, flat walk of a few minutes from the car park; no hiking gear needed.
• Swimming: this is a coastal viewpoint rather than a swimming pool — the water meets open ocean here, and the rocks are sharp basalt. It’s a place to look and photograph, not to bathe.
• Nearby: the church of Notre-Dame-des-Laves, spared by the 1977 lava flow that destroyed most of the surrounding village, is a five-minute drive away and worth combining with the stop.

Because the east coast faces the trade winds, this area sees noticeably more rain than the west, and the falls run fuller as a result. Combine it with the rest of the coast in east coast day trip from Saint-Gilles.

Langevin waterfall and pools — the Wild South

In the Wild South, the village of Langevin sits at the base of a valley with a genuine waterfall and a series of natural pools carved into basalt, some of which are safe to swim in when the river is calm.

• Access: park near the village and walk down to the riverbed; the main waterfall is a short, easy walk. Some of the upper pools involve scrambling over wet rock and are better attempted early in the day, in a group, and only when the river is clearly low.
• Swimming: this is one of the few waterfall sites on the island where swimming is genuinely common in the right conditions — but the same leptospirosis caution applies after rain, and currents can be stronger than they look immediately below the falls.
• Timing: go in the morning; cloud tends to build over the south by early afternoon, and the light in the gorge fades quickly once the sun moves behind the ridge.

The Wild South is worth a full day beyond Langevin — the lava fields of the Grand Brûlé, the Cap Méchant cliffs, and the Puits Arabe are all nearby. See Wild South day trip from Saint-Gilles for a route that includes Langevin without rushing it.

Cilaos: waterfalls you can see, and basins you can only reach by canyoning

Cilaos is Réunion’s canyoning capital, and it’s worth separating two different things that carry the same name.

Waterfalls visible from the trails. Several cascades are visible along the Bras Rouge and Fleurs Jaunes hiking trails around Cilaos, reached on foot without technical equipment. These are viewpoints, not swimming spots, and the paths can be narrow and exposed in places.

Canyoning basins. The pools inside the Fleurs Jaunes, Gobert, and Bras Rouge canyons are a different matter entirely. Reaching them means abseiling down rock faces into the ravine, wearing a wetsuit and harness, and jumping or sliding into the pools between drops. This is only done with a certified canyoning outfitter, never independently — the approach and the pools themselves are not accessible any other way, and the water levels that make a canyon safe change fast after rain.

Site	How you reach it	Swimming
Voile de la Mariée (Salazie)	Roadside, no walk	Not a swimming spot
Anse des Cascades (Sainte-Rose)	Short flat walk	Coastal viewpoint only
Langevin (Wild South)	Short walk, some scrambling for upper pools	Yes, in calm conditions
Cilaos trail waterfalls (Fleurs Jaunes, Bras Rouge)	Hiking trail	Viewpoint, not for swimming
Cilaos canyoning basins (Fleurs Jaunes, Gobert, Bras Rouge)	Guided canyoning descent only	Yes, as part of the guided descent

If canyoning interests you, canyoning in Réunion covers outfitters and what a typical descent involves. A helicopter or ULM flight over the cirques is the other way to see waterfalls like the Trou de Fer that are otherwise a full day’s hike away:

a helicopter flight from Saint-Gilles-les-Bains that passes over Salazie’s waterfalls and the Trou de Fer canyon, or the lower and slower 45-minute microlight flight over the cirques, islets, and lagoon for a closer, quieter view of the same landscape.

Why the east is wetter, and what that means for a waterfall trip

Réunion’s climate splits sharply between coasts. The east, including Salazie and the stretch around Sainte-Rose, sits directly in the path of the trade winds and receives far more rain year-round than the sheltered west around Saint-Gilles-les-Bains and Saint-Leu. That’s good news for waterfall volume — the east’s cascades rarely run dry — but it also means trails and access roads there close more often after heavy rain, sometimes for days.

The dry season, roughly May to October, is the more reliable window for reaching waterfalls on foot, since trails are less likely to be closed and river crossings are lower. The wet season, November to April, is also cyclone season on the island: waterfalls can be spectacular in the days after a storm system passes, but access can also be cut entirely, and swimming anywhere in fresh water should be avoided until levels visibly drop. See Réunion cyclone season guide and Réunion weather by month for how this plays out month by month.

Before you go: check access, don’t assume it

None of the waterfalls above are compulsory stops, and none should be promised as open. The ONF (France’s national forestry office) publishes trail closures for the island, and it’s the only reliable source for whether a given access path is open on a given day — not a blog post, and not this page. Check it before setting out, especially in the days after rain in the east or south, or before any trail that involves scrambling near a river.

A few practical points that apply across every site on this list:

• Footwear matters more than it looks. Wet basalt is slippery, and several of these approaches involve rock rather than a maintained path.
• Go early. Cloud and rain build through the day almost everywhere on the island, and river levels can rise through the afternoon even without local rain, from run-off higher in the catchment.
• Don’t chase a swim after rain. However tempting the pool looks, waiting a few days costs nothing; leptospirosis is a genuine and sometimes serious illness, and it’s the one health rule specific to fresh water on this island.
• Combine, don’t rush. Salazie, the east coast, and the Wild South each justify a full day on their own. A one-day loop rarely does more than one of these areas justice — see Réunion road trip around the island for how to sequence a longer trip.

If you’d rather see several of these landscapes without driving yourself, a full-island tour covers a wider sweep in a single day:

a guided full-island tour that takes in the cirques, the coast, and the volcano in a single day. After a morning in Cilaos, many visitors round off the day closer to Saint-Paul with a guided rhum arrangé tasting workshop in Saint-Paul rather than driving straight back.

Waterfalls and natural pools in Réunion: FAQ

Is it safe to swim in Réunion’s waterfalls and river pools?

It can be, but avoid freshwater swimming for at least a few days after heavy rain: run-off carries the leptospirosis bacteria, which causes a flu-like illness that can become serious. This is a freshwater risk, unrelated to the shark-related swimming restrictions that apply in the sea.

Can you swim at the Voile de la Mariée in Salazie?

The viewpoint from the road is the main draw, and the pool at the base is not a maintained swimming spot. Water levels and access change with rainfall, so treat it as a photo stop rather than a swimming destination.

Is the Anse des Cascades good for families?

Yes. It is a short, flat walk from the car park under a coconut grove, with picnic tables and no scrambling, which makes it one of the easiest waterfall stops on the island for children or anyone short on time.

Do you need a guide to see the Langevin waterfall and pools?

No. The main waterfall and the lower pools near the village of Langevin are reached on foot from a marked parking area without a guide. Some upstream pools require scrambling over wet rock, so check conditions and go early if you plan to swim.

What is the difference between the Cilaos waterfalls and the Cilaos canyoning basins?

The waterfalls you can see or reach on foot (near the Bras Rouge and Fleurs Jaunes trails) are separate from the canyoning descents through the same valleys, which involve abseiling into pools and are only done with a certified guide and full equipment.

Why does the east coast have more waterfalls than the west?

The east coast faces the trade winds and receives far more rainfall than the sheltered west, so its rivers run higher and its waterfalls are more consistent. The west coast, around Saint-Leu and Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, has the lagon instead.

How do I check if a waterfall trail is open?

Check the ONF’s trail status pages before heading out, especially after heavy rain in the east or south. Trails and access roads to natural pools close after landslides or flooding, sometimes with no notice on-site.