Looking for a forest for sale in Mayotte? The island has no forest market in the sense understood in mainland France. Its last natural forests cover the ridges, from Mont Bénara to Mont Choungui; mostly public, they belong chiefly to the Département and partly to the State, and a large share has been protected since 2021 by the Mayotte forests national nature reserve. What private owners sell is planted, tree-covered land: Mahorais gardens where coconut palms, mango and jackfruit trees shade bananas and cassava, secondary woods on the slopes, and sometimes old eroded land in need of restoration. For more conventional forest holdings, see our woods and forest plots for sale in other French departments.
Another particularity: the DVF property sales database, on which our price observatories are built, does not cover Mayotte. No forest sale price can therefore be calculated for the island, and the benchmarks shown just after this introduction are those of the other overseas departments and of France as a whole; our study of forest prices in France’s overseas departments sets them out in detail. Above all, this page helps you understand what can be bought and the precautions to take, particularly regarding title and clearance.
The DVF database behind the ma-propriete.fr forest price observatory does not cover Mayotte, so no forest sale price can be published for the island. As a benchmark, the median price of a hectare of forest in France was €4,936/ha in 2025, and the overseas departments covered by DVF show a median of €8,991/ha across 87 sales.
Source: DVF (French tax authority), processed by ma-propriete.fr; forests of 1 ha or more, cadastral type woodland; July 2020 to December 2025; Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin are not covered by DVF.
Rainforest now survives almost only on the summits and ridgelines, above the cultivated land; lower down, drier formations take over. These public forests fall under the forestry regime and are managed by the Office national des forêts (ONF), the state forestry agency, and the departmental council. Created by a decree of 3 May 2021, the Mayotte forests national nature reserve spans several ridge-top forest massifs: farming, grazing, logging and any works that alter the site are prohibited or strictly controlled there.
These forests are under heavy pressure: illegal clearing for crops, charcoal burning, farm fires that get out of control, and sometimes fires lit to stake a claim to land. They are not for sale, and a plot cultivated inside a public forest does not become the property of whoever farms it: be wary of any offer for land on the edge of the ridges without clearly established title.
The wooded landscape of the hills is first and foremost agricultural. The Mahorais garden combines, on the same plot, large fruit trees such as coconut palms, mango or jackfruit with bananas, cassava or pigeon peas (ambrevade), creating almost continuous tree cover. It is this kind of land, sometimes extended by secondary woodland on a slope, that is passed on or sold, usually in small parcels and often within families.
On some slopes, the padzas, soils stripped bare by erosion after past clearing, show another face of the island: this degraded land can be replanted, but restoring it takes time and money. Buying wooded land in Mayotte therefore usually means acquiring a farming or family plot, rarely a forest property bought as an investment.
The mangroves at the head of the bays, such as Bouéni, are largely entrusted to the Conservatoire du littoral, the national coastal protection agency, along with other wooded shores. As in the other overseas departments, the cinquante pas géométriques zone applies in Mayotte: this coastal strip belongs to the public maritime domain. A listing for tree-covered land on the lagoon shore therefore calls for a careful check of the boundary between private property and public domain, on Grande-Terre as on Petite-Terre.
Land ownership in Mayotte is still being regularised. Much land has been handed down under customary arrangements without a registered title, or is occupied without any right: insist on a notarised deed, check the chain of owners and registration with the land registry (service de la publicité foncière) with the notaire, then have the plot surveyed by a géomètre-expert. When the property comes from an inheritance, make sure the co-heirs have validly agreed to the sale.
In Mayotte, clearance is governed by the French forestry code and the regional agriculture and forestry directorate (DAAF) carries out checks on both public and private land: do not clear trees without consulting it, and note that the prefect can regulate agricultural burning. On slopes, erosion and landslides are a real risk; the island has also experienced seismic activity linked to the birth of an undersea volcano off Petite-Terre from 2018, and Cyclone Chido, in December 2024, caused severe damage to trees and crops. To find out what planning zoning allows, see our article on whether you can build a house on wooded land.
Wooded land in Mayotte very rarely appears online; if a listing is published on ma-propriete.fr, it comes from a private seller, an estate agent or a notaire. The surest approach is to receive new listings by email matching your search, or to send us a request to be put in touch. You can also publish a listing for your own land or explore the forest properties for sale in mainland France and overseas.
