The Piton des Neiges 3,070m (10,0072ft) towers over the lush, tropical forests, naturally, rocky ampitheatres and white sand beaches of La Réunion, a spectacular island 435 miles (700km) off the east coast of Madagascar. This active volcano is not just the highest on Réunion Island - it’s the highest point in the whole of the Indian Ocean, and it makes for a remarkable centrepiece to an island surrounded by azure waters shared by humpback whales, loggerhead turtles and swordfish.
“Réunion is a small island,” says Clement Ailloud, a trekking expert who was born near the Alps in mainland France, but who has lived on the island for more than a decade. “It's 50 miles (80km) from north to south and 40 miles (64km) west to east, but you have so many incredible landscapes within that - volcanoes, big summits over 3,000m (9,842ft), you have lovely lagoon beaches and the inner city with Hindu temples, churches, mosques. For me, it’s a paradise.”
The nearest island to Réunion is Mauritius, 226km (140 miles) to the east, and as Réunion is still a French outpost, there are regular, direct flights from Paris.
If the picture painted above is of interest, then the fact that there are 560 miles (900km) of marked hiking trails on Réunion is worth noting. The island has three Grande Randonnée hiking trails classified by the French Hiking Federation. The GR-R2 - or Grande Traversée - is arguably the ultimate. This 80-mile (130km) trail crosses the island from north to south, taking in coastal shores and high peaks, including the aforementioned Piton des Neiges and the Piton de la Fournaise (2,632m/8,635ft), one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
“It’s usually done over 14 days and 13 nights, if you do it from the beginning to the end,” says Clement. However, you can take in many of the highlights of the tour on a nine or 10-night itinerary. The route begins in the capital of the island, St. Denis, and finishes in Le Baril (by the commune of St. Philippe).
“It’s for people who have a good level of hiking,” Clement adds. “You’ll be walking between four and eight hours each day, sometimes with 1,000m up, 1,000m down.
At the beginning, it's very green. You'll see cows and lambs. Then you'll go through a tropical forest, and after, it's like you're crossing the moon...
“There is a lot of landscape change on the trail. For example, there is a stage from Bourg-Murat to the Gîte du Volcan, which is close to the volcano. At the beginning, it's very green. You'll see cows and lambs and short grass. Then you'll go through a tropical forest, and after, it's like you're crossing the moon when you are arriving at the volcano. It changes a lot, and this is very unique.”
The climate is particularly good from April to December. “During that time it's not too warm and it's not too cold in the mountains,” Clement explains. “It's mostly dry, so it's ideal for outdoor activities. You can see turtles in the water and from July to October, you can watch humpback whales jumping.”
One key, distinctive feature of Réunion are the cirques - a word which describes a partially-open basin with sheer, steep walls at the head of a glacial valley; almost like a natural amphitheatre.
“In Réunion Island you have three cirques,” says Clement. “Réunion is a young island. That’s why the island is so high. The Piton des Neiges has been quiet for 10,000 years now, but around a million years ago, there was a big, big eruption, and the volcano collapsed a bit, creating those three cirques. They are very beautiful landscapes, in the mountains but with tropical forest and vegetation, and with a lot of beautiful, big waterfalls.”
The volcano ascents are particularly special. Piton de la Fournaise is still active, but there are procedures in place to make sure that trekkers stay safe.
“It’s is also one of the most studied volcanoes in the world,” says Clement. “There’s an enormously high number of scientists who study it every day, so when it’s going to erupt, we have that information. If there is a risk, all of the trails on the volcano are closed, and if there are people who already began the route, then the police use helicopters to get them back safely.
“An eruption can last maybe 24 hours or it could last two months.”
If the volcano does erupt, and you can’t climb it, the plan shifts to an arguably even more dramatic feat - hiking trails which lead to stunning viewpoints out over the erupting volcano.
“We go around the side of the caldera, and there are wonderful views," says Clement. "When we guide a group, we prefer to go at night with a headlamp. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”
When you climb to the highest point, Piton des Neiges, you do so from a refuge at 2,500m (8,202ft). Leave early - 3.30am or 4.30am - and you can watch the sun rise from the summit.
“Sometimes you can see Mauritius, when the weather is good”, says Clement. “It’s incredible.”
The island of Réunion was uninhabited when it was discovered in 1512 by the Portuguese, and claimed by France in 1642. There is a dark side to the history, however. Originally used as a site for the exile of mutineers, the French later brought in slaves from East Africa to work on sugar plantations, which brought wealth to the colonisers. Today, the 20 December is celebrated annually as the day slavery was abolished on the island, in 1848, and that history is explored in The Villèle Museum, which reflects the social and economic evolution of this former French colony, which became a French overseas department in 1946.
Most visitors today are French, and many combine a visit with a beach holiday on Mauritius, which is less than an hour away on a plane.
“Tourism still isn’t hugely popular here,” says Clement. “You have around 500,000 tourists each year, 80% of which are from mainland France. When people do come, it’s like discovering a new, exclusive destination. Many people don’t know there is somewhere like this in the world.”
Beneath mighty volcanoes and cirques, don't expect to find crowds on the trails.
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