Reunion Island

Reunion is a small island that is nearly round: a main road goes all the way round in 240 kilometres (150 miles). It’s a mountain rising out of the ocean, born of two major volcanic events.

The first took place two and a half million years ago. The magma gushing out of the crater then spread around and into the ocean, making up what is today the high point of the island: the Piton des Neiges (Snow peak) (3,069 metres).

The second volcanic event occurred 380,000 years ago, about 30 kilometres to the southeast. A new volcanic mound formed and became attached to the first. This is how the Piton de la Fournaise (Furnace Peak) (2,632 m) was formed. It is still active today and regularly erupts, offering a spectacle all the more enchanting as you can safely approach lava flows and fountains.

Today, at the centre of the island are three gigantic basins: Mafate, Cilaos, and Salazie. Resulting from enormous collapses, they are open to the sea via narrow passages. These basins constitute one of the island’s major attractions. Surrounded by walking paths, they offer nature lovers a spectacle of wooded gorges and extraordinary waterfalls.

Reunion Island

The coastal plains are narrow, the slopes rising rapidly. The coral has not yet had the time to create a barrier all around the island and form a vast lagoon. The coral forms a discontinuous reef of about 15 kilometres (10 miles) to the west and south of the island.

Beyond the magnificent smooth turquoise waters bordered with white sand the reef, like before the majestic basalt cliffs, rapidly gives way to the great depths. Reunion has wild and rugged terrain that the weather has not yet softened, but makes a part of its richness.