Routing packet traffic using hierarchical forwarding groups is disclosed. In an embodiment, a packet is received at a packet router. Data related to the packet is received at a first forwarding group. Based on a first forwarding policy associated with the first forwarding group, a particular second forwarding group is selected from a set of forwarding groups that are members of the first forwarding group. Each forwarding group of the set of forwarding groups that are members of the first forwarding group is associated with a unique set of paths. Data related to the packet is provided to the particular second forwarding group. Based on a second forwarding policy associated with the particular second forwarding group, a particular path is selected from a set of paths that are associated with the particular second forwarding group. The packet is forwarded to a network node via the particular path.