Piton de la Fountaise

Featured Posts

Reunion Island Highlights ~

June 13, 2013 by Patti No Comments

This post is shared in collaboration with One Road at a Time ~

You may have heard of Mauritius, but the Indian Ocean’s best kept secret is the island of Réunion a mere 200km away. With bespoke (custom made) tours and flights to Mauritius with Trailfinders, you can discover the delights of Réunion yourself with a four day trip packed full of unique and amazing experiences that will leave you wondering why you never came here before.

With only a 45-minute flight separating Mauritius and Reunion, on your first day you can be settled in and already off to the beach before lunchtime, following your escort from the airport via private car. The hotel has everything you could possibly need, so if you don’t fancy exploring then sit by the pool and have your every need attended to.

You might be needing that relaxed opening because day two is when the action really starts. Piton de la Fountaise is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and tackling it in a 4×4 is one of the world’s most exhilarating rides. En route you’ll enjoy stunning panoramas, the highlight being Nez de Boeuf; a huge canyon on the Rivière des Remparts caused by the collapse of the volcano’s summit. You’ll also be treated to authentic local cuisine, keeping you fully-fueled to battle the rivers of lava you’ll encounter.

Piton de la Fournaise – Photo credit: Scienceblogs.com

And if getting up-close and personal with a volcano isn’t enough for you, then seeing it from high above will certainly sate your appetite – on day 3 you’ll swoop through the sky with a breathtaking helicopter tour of the island. The tour itself takes you all over the island to see sites simply inaccessible by land or water. To hover at the head of a trio of waterfalls plunging towards the ground hundreds of meters below is an awe-inspiring experience, whilst the sensation of soaring towards the volcanic summits before gracefully gliding down to the floor of the cirques (amphitheatre-like valley constructions formed by millions of years of geological erosion) is one not to be missed. The skills of the pilot allow you to get up close to the wonderful environment in a way you never would have thought possible.

You’ll be amazed at how much you can pack into 4 days – it may not be long, but the memories will stay with you forever. Réunion is a truly unique place on Earth, and one definitely not to be missed.