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Volcanoes, waterfalls and peaks: Réunion in 10 natural paradises

2021-01-18T06:10:51.024Z


10 hours by plane from the metropolis, Reunion Island offers visitors its landscapes of raw and wild beauty. What to fill up with visual sensations in the heart of the European winter.


The Piton de la Fournaise

Say "the Volcano".

With a capital V, for the sake of the undisputed star of Reunion's geography.

In the very south of Reunion, the Piton de la Fournaise is part of the very exclusive club of the most active volcanoes on the planet.

Its last eruption dates from December 8, 2020. Another distinctive sign: its access is disconcertingly easy, and safe.

From Bourg-Murat, a winding road crosses pastures and forests before descending into the sublime Plaine des Sables, with its mineral and lunar decor.

The road turns into a straight track for several kilometers and climbs up to Pas de Bellecombe, where the belvedere is located overlooking the volcano enclosure (the natural basin that surrounds the cone).

The more athletic can descend into the enclosure by taking a staircase of 500 steps carved into the wall and continue on the path that crosses the expanses of solidified lava to the edge of the caldera (allow 5 hours round trip).

Our advice

Arrive very early in the morning at the belvedere (around 6 a.m.) because of the rapid cloudiness which obscures the view.

For hikers who undertake the ascent of the volcano, book a night at the Gîte du Volcan.

To read also: Pitons de La Réunion, Gulf of Porto, Mont Perdu… The 6 French natural sites classified by Unesco

The circus of Cilaos

The circus of Cilaos makes you dizzy.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

Be careful, we can't resist its charm!

Emblematic site of tourism in Reunion, the Cilaos circus gives the impression of changing people, far from the bustle of the coast.

The only road that leads there is a journey in itself.

Departing from the coastal town of Saint-Louis, it heads towards a breach in the circus then gradually rises in 400 switchbacks, over 37 km, in a mountainous setting that makes you dizzy, before reaching the village from Cilaos, at an altitude of 1,200 m.

We catch our breath by putting down our suitcases in one of the city's hotels, before exploring the most spectacular corners of the circus, on foot or during a canyoning trip.

In the evening, we revitalize ourselves by tasting a good dish of lentils, the local specialty.

Our advice

For even more change of scenery, stay in one of the guest rooms in the two other circus villages, Îlet-à-Cordes and Bras-Sec.

The circus of Mafate

Mafate is not served by any road, which gives it its wild aspect.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

If there was only one to remember, it would be him.

Mafate is the promise of absolute disconnection in unspoiled nature.

A world apart, which lives in almost autarky because, unlike the circuses of Salazie or Cilaos, no road serves it.

Only a few hundred people live in the ten or so modest islets (villages) scattered around this immense volcanic crater surrounded by vertiginous walls.

The only means of access: walking, via several “entry doors” into the circus.

The crater is meshed by a network of marked trails, which connect the islets between them.

A paradise for hikers, who discover awe-inspiring landscapes of an astonishing diversity: arid ravines, rivers, small canyons, ledges, wooded plateaus and rocky chaos.

Our advice

Mafate can be visited by the day from Col des Bœufs (accessible by car) to the village of La Nouvelle, but it is recommended to compose an à la carte walking tour of at least three days to maximize the feeling of change of scenery .

There are lodges (and even guest rooms) in each islet.

More information on www.reunion.fr and www.randopitons.re.

Read also: What to do on Reunion Island without being a fan of hiking?

The circus of Salazie

It is accessed via a road along Creole huts and villas full of character.

Adobe Stock

This immense volcanic basin in the east of the island stands out from its two neighbors by the luxuriance of its landscapes.

No wonder, since it is exposed to the prevailing winds.

It is accessed via a picturesque road leaving from the town of Saint-André.

People come to Salazie as much to enjoy the sumptuous surroundings as for the cultural touch offered by Hell-Bourg, the main locality, whose architectural heritage leaves you dreaming.

The main street is lined with elegant restored Creole huts and villas full of character, which bear witness to a flourishing past, when the colonial high society came for vacation to enjoy the thermal waters.

Ants in the legs?

We try to climb the Piton d'Enchaing (5-6 hours round trip), a kind of large molar planted in the middle of the circus.

Our advice

Taste the darling, the culinary specialty of the circus, a delicate pear-shaped vegetable, pale green, cooked as a salad or as a gratin.

All the restaurants in Hell-Bourg offer it.

Big pool

Near the hamlet hides a superb waterfall.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

It is one of the nuggets that Réunion has the secret.

Grand-Bassin is a hamlet where only a few families live located in the hollow of a deep valley, accessible on foot only from a belvedere, i.e. 600 m of vertical drop on the way down (allow 1 hour 30 minutes), and as much on the way back (about 2 hours)… Courage!

On site, we decompress completely.

The tranquility is absolute, the silence is barely disturbed by the breeze which makes the lush vegetation shiver.

Fancy a swim?

5 minutes from the hamlet, you can take a refreshing dip in the river basins, in the immediate vicinity of a superb waterfall.

A delight!

Our advice

It is possible to go back and forth during the day, but it would be a real shame not to “make the hiking efforts profitable” by not taking advantage of the harmony of the places in the evening and in the early morning.

Of the handful of lodgings available, Les Mimosas is the most comfortable.

Bébour-Bélouve Forest

Welcome to the most beautiful high altitude forest in Réunion?

Adobe Stock / Stephanie

Welcome to the most beautiful high-altitude forest in Réunion (1,500 m).

The "green pearl" of the island is accessible by a 20 km secondary road from the village of Plaine-des-Palmistes.

The massif is made up of fanjans (tree ferns), cryptomérias, tamarinds, mosses and trunks with ghostly silhouettes.

A vegetal jumble with a surreal atmosphere, especially when the low clouds come to caress the canopy.

Among the possible hikes, a must: the path which leads to the panorama of the Trou de Fer, one of the most impressive natural sites of the island (3 hours 30 round trip).

Imagine a 300-meter-deep chasm, on the sides of which pour out long cascades, like filaments of infinite lengths.

Our advice

This forest has picnic areas.

You can spend the night at the Gîte de Bélouve (tel .: 06 92 85 93 07), to the north of the massif, perched on the edge of a mountain wall, with the Salazie cirque below.

Magic at sunrise!

Read also: In Reunion, the return of turtles and humpback whales told by Cécile de France

The cliffs of the Wild South

Reign here a little air of Brittany.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

A tropical island, Réunion?

This is not the impression that emerges when taking the coastal road between Saint-Joseph and Saint-Philippe.

In this sector, the magnificent coastline shows itself in a decidedly wild light, with basaltic cliffs beaten by the rollers of the ocean - there is a little air of Brittany here.

We fell in love with Cap Méchant, a promontory preceded by a pandanus forest, which is accessed by a panoramic path.

It is even possible to swim in complete safety in one of the pools built into the rock, such as the seawater swimming pool at the Puits des Anglais.

Our advice

Stop in one of the stalls along the coastal road to discover the craft of vacoa, a plant with the fibers from which we make baskets, hats and place mats.

Takamaka Belvedere

A magical environment which is also one of the wettest in Reunion.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

Of course, this point of view must be earned.

But what a reward!

On the east coast, we go up the interminable D53 for about fifteen kilometers to the terminus, next to a mini power station.

And there ... The magic operates.

It feels like teleported to the

Avatar set

.

The view of the Arc-en-Ciel waterfall below is staggering, in the middle of dense forests and vertiginous gorges, often shrouded in mist.

Note: this is one of the most rainy places on the island, with rainfall exceeding 6 meters per year ...

Our advice

Avoid weekends, when the road, narrow and winding, is busy.

Read also: Reunion at the top

Grande Ravine waterfall

The most photogenic waterfall on the island.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

It is the most photogenic of Reunion's waterfalls (a prestigious title, given the level of competition).

From Langevin, in the south of the island, a small road goes up the river for 9 km.

Suddenly, around a hairpin bend, the Grande Ravine waterfall is revealed in majesty.

Innumerable streams of water scratch the black and mossy rock and flow into a basin bordered by black pebbles, in the middle of a cirque of greenery.

For swimming, the many natural pools downstream do the trick perfectly.

Our advice

Continue for 2 km upstream to the charming village of Grand-Galet, where the road ends in a cul-de-sac.

The Grand Brûlé

A lunar landscape of lava flows.

Jean-Bernard Carillet / Le Figaro

A well-deserved name, which designates a portion of coastline of ten kilometers at the south-eastern end of the island, totally "burned" by the lava flows from the volcano.

Witnesses of successive eruptions, these solidified magma fields form immense trails that advance to the ocean.

Some lava tongues are still smoking.

A viewpoint has been created, slightly overhanging the coastal road which crosses this landscape.

Treading this ocean of rocks as black as ebony, folded, blistered and cracked, is an unforgettable experience.

Our advice

Follow the path that leads to the point of the Table (signposted), the most spectacular of the magmatic advances in the sea, which formed during the eruption of 1986.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-01-18

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