Where to park in Cilaos: a parking guide

Cilaos is a mountain village built on narrow terrain at the end of a 400-bend road. Streets are tight, spaces limited, and visitor numbers spike at weekends, during school holidays and for events such as the Grand Raid.

• The area around rue du Père Boiteau concentrates the shops: free spaces, but in heavy demand between 10 am and 3 pm.
• Car parks near the thermal baths and the town hall are the handiest for exploring on foot.
• Avoid angle parking in narrow lanes: service vehicles need clear passage.

Le Bloc (Piton des Neiges), Col du Taïbit (towards Mafate), Roche Merveilleuse or Bras Rouge all have small unsupervised parking areas. They fill early in the morning and offer no security for a car left for several days.

Simple rule: never leave a bag, camera or document visible in the cabin, even for two hours.

This is the trickiest case. If you set off on the GR R1, GR R2 or towards Mafate, your car stays put for two to five days, often in the middle of nowhere. Supervised car parking in Cilaos answers exactly this need: an organised space in the village, billing per 24-hour period, drop-off and pick-up by appointment.

And if you come back by a different trail from the one you started on, leaving the car in the village rather than at the trailhead saves you an unplanned shuttle at the end of the traverse.

The road to Cilaos has narrow tunnels and tight bends: larger vehicles get through, but slowly and best off-peak. Once there, large spaces are scarce — plan ahead, especially in the late afternoon.