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Jakarta to Réunion: Saint-Denis, Cilaos and Piton de la Fournaise

Jakarta → Saint-Denis → Cilaos → Piton de la Fournaise

Saint-Denis, Réunion
"SaintDenisReunion005.JPG" by B.navez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
SaintDenisReunion005 (Saint-Denis)
Photo: B.navez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Volcanic cirques & hiking Best season (general guide): May–Nov

Réunion is a French island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with steep volcanic mountains, deep cirques and one of the world's most active volcanoes. This route spends seven nights between Saint-Denis, Cilaos and the volcano. From Jakarta you'll connect through Mauritius, the Gulf or Paris.

How to pace it: Spend days one and two in Saint-Denis: day one, Creole villas; day two, markets and the coast. Then spend days three to five in Cilaos: day three, road of 400 bends to Cilaos; day four, hike in the cirque; day five, Piton des Neiges or thermal baths. Then spend days six and seven in Piton de la Fournaise: day six, travel to the volcano, then Plaine des Sables; day seven, crater rim hike (if open).

UNESCO lists the island's pitons, cirques and remparts, a landscape of peaks, amphitheatres and cliffs covered in forest. Saint-Denis, the capital, has Creole villas and markets.

Cilaos lies in one of three cirques, huge basins formed by volcanic collapse and erosion. The road to Cilaos climbs through many hairpin bends. Trails lead from the village to waterfalls and to Piton des Neiges, the island's highest peak.

Mafate, another cirque, has no roads at all and can only be reached on foot or by helicopter.

Piton de la Fournaise, in the south-east, erupts frequently. A road crosses the Plaine des Sables, a lunar landscape, to a car park, and a trail leads across the caldera to the crater rim when it is open. Access can close during eruptions.

May to November is the cooler, drier season and best for hiking. Cyclones can occur from December to March.

Book cirque accommodation ahead, as rooms in Cilaos fill up in the hiking season. For the volcano, check the access status the day before, and bring warm clothes for the early start.

Good to know: A hire car is essential. Start hikes early, as clouds often cover the mountains by midday. Creole food such as rougail, a spicy dish of sausage or fish, is served across the island.

Suggested outline

  1. Jakarta

    Start

  2. Saint-Denis

    By air · 2 nights suggested

    Réunion's capital, with Creole villas and the start of the mountain roads.

  3. Cilaos

    Overland · 3 nights suggested

    A cirque village reached by a winding road, base for hikes to Piton des Neiges.

    Cirque de Cilaos
    "Cilaos.JPG" by No machine-readable author provided. B.navez assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

  4. Piton de la Fournaise

    Overland · 2 nights suggested

    One of the world's most active volcanoes, with a trail across the caldera.

    Piton de la Fournaise
    "Piton_de_la_Fournaise,_Réunion_Island_(High_Resolution).jpg" by Brian Iannone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Saint-Denis — Arrive; Creole villas· Jakarta → Saint-Denis (by air)
  2. Day 2 · Saint-Denis — Markets and the coast
  3. Day 3 · Cilaos — Road of 400 bends to Cilaos· Saint-Denis → Cilaos (overland)
  4. Day 4 · Cilaos — Hike in the cirque
  5. Day 5 · Cilaos — Piton des Neiges or thermal baths
  6. Day 6 · Piton de la Fournaise — To the volcano; Plaine des Sables· Cilaos → Piton de la Fournaise (overland)
  7. Day 7 · Piton de la Fournaise — Crater rim hike (if open)
  8. Day 8 · Piton de la Fournaise — Travel home from Piton de la Fournaise· Piton de la Fournaise → Saint-Denis (overland), then Saint-Denis → Jakarta (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

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Saint-Denis

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Cilaos

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