"This review is for the person who is an occasional hiker. (Those of you who hike often, you already have hiking guide resources that will be far better suited to you experienced exploring.) This hiking trail is very challenging and it should not be taken without careful planning.

You will need to take water with you as the only source of drinking water is at the very end of a difficult trail at the second and final refuge. Also, there is practically no way for emergency services to quickly reach you if you need help, except for maybe a helicopter (but there is no place for a helicopter to land near the trail). (Call 15 or 112 for emergency services.)

Proper hiking shoes with very good traction is very important. The trail, even when it is dry, is slippery from the loose dirt and especially the ubiquitous dead long pine needles covering entire sections of the trail. Going up is challenging but there are a few ropes to help you with an otherwise imposingly steep path. However, coming down on that type of loose terrain is extremely difficult. If it rains, the resulting mud makes the path very difficult and dangerous. Finally, the almost 2km single lane road to the starting point of the trail has almost no space for cars traveling in opposite directions to pass each other without one of the cars pulling off to the side of the road. See the photos of the road… tourists in rental cars should avoid driving here. There is a fancy restaurant at the top of the road and there is some parking for restaurant guests. There is no parking for others except for a handful of roadside curb areas into which one could squeeze a compact car without falling of the edge and down the steep hill.

So, you may wonder why 5 stars after all of the preceding warnings? The views are amazing and the air is so clean to breathe. Although there are significant challenges for the average healthy person to make this hike, if you prepare well and have the right equipment (e.g., water, hiking shoes, protective clothing and some common sense about the trail conditions and not pushing yourself too hard) the hike is a fantastic experience."

Nabil Foster

"A 30 minute drive from the city. You can go in the morning and finish for lunch and swimming at the restaurant or go in the afternoon and finish for dinner. There are two sections to the trail. The first is easy and goes for 60-90 minutes to the third bench. After that, the trail will get more intense and continue to an overnight hut. The trail is in good condition and safe, but if you have a fear of heights you may want to proceed with caution."

Lief Friedrichs

"This trail is usually started from the O' Belvedere restaurant and the first problem is the drive to the starting location is quite scary. The last 4 kilometers of the drive is on a narrow 1 lane road that only fits 1 vehicle. When oncoming traffic arrives, you may have to back up a long time to find a location where one vehicle can pull over to allow the other to pass. I was extremely lucky and every time there was oncoming traffic, a shoulder was readily available. When it rains, the shoulder areas are not well paved and I was constantly worried about my 2WD rental vehicle getting stuck. Thankfully it was mostly ok. I ended up not driving all the way to the restaurant although there is plenty of parking at the top and ended up parking about 1.5km from the restaurant/trailhead near the entrance of a private residence where there was a large flat turn-out next to the road.

The trail itself is more challenging than Mont Marau and the views are not quite as good. Path is extremely narrow with many areas requiring on foot after another. Some areas with a sleep slide area without even vegetation as a guard rail. Ended up stopping after 2 kilometers without reaching the first refuge because the overgrown vegetation was making it hard to even see the right path. It's still a fun trail but know your limits and don't overdo it. It was overall still a fun experience and maybe if I had a more experience guide by my side, I would be willing to make it up further."

Victor Wang