La Réunion

Updated 04.16.2006

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Reunion (La Réunion) is a wonderful African island in the Indian Ocean, not far from Madagascar. It is an overseas department of France and so it is also a marginal EC territory, with quite good economical conditions. There are no endemic tropical diseases and no malaria, so you have no need for vaccinations and chemio-profylaxis. Its sanitary system is one of the most advanced of all Africa. It is a quite young volcanic island with breathtaking landscapes, only the West Coast has a coral reef with wonderful beaches and lagoons. The rest of the coast is quite fretted and wild. The peaks of two great volcanoes, the old "Piton des Neiges" and the new and active "Piton De la Furnaise" dominate the island. You can go there all over the year because the climate is mild and temperate by the sea breath, but the summer (from January to March) is also the cyclonic season. Probably the best place to stay is on the West Coast where the climate is dry and sunny all over the year. This is the only zone of the coast where you can take a sea bath. I was in  Hermitage Les Bains, that I found really fine, is not far from the wonderful beach of Bucan Canot, and it has also a fine beach protected by a coral reef, and at St Leu, just near the jetty, there is a great surf beach of worldwide renown. But the wonderful beaches and lagoons are not the only thing you can expect to find here. The mountains are superb; there are quite inaccessible tropical forests and waterfalls and quiet valleys, like the "Malfate cirque", where no roads arrive, a real trekking paradise. And over all there is the volcano, the excursion at its summit is really unforgettable. It is a 5 hours walk, about 7 miles, quite exhausting, but really superb, in a lunar landscape. An absolute must is the helicopter fly all around the island, quite expensive (about 200$) but really wonderful. No problem at all for the meals, the Reunion food, a mixture of Chinese, Indian, African and French cooking, is really good, and you can buy excellent food almost everywhere from the "camion-bar", truck transformed in restaurants at the border of the roads. Don't forget your snorkeling equipment, tropical fish are magnificent but beware from sea urchins. And never forget your trekking boots.

Beaches

Open air markets

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Excursions

Bibliography  all in French

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La Réunion a tropical paradise in the Indian Ocean

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Last revised: 04.16.2006.