Beautiful places on the sub-tropical Réunion Island

Located in the Indian Ocean, off Madagascar, and not far from Mauritius, the French Réunion Island is home to magnificent landscapes. It's a volcanic island that also has sub-tropical forests and dream beaches. Have a look at the 20 most beautiful places on an island that are absolutely worth visiting.

A famous seaside resort in Réunion, the Boucan Canot is famous for its heavenly beach where the white sand blends with the turquoise blue of the Indian Ocean.

Less crowded than that Boucan Canot, Manapany Beach is an idyllic place to enjoy nature, the sun, and the ocean.

Image: reunion.fr

Réunion is marked by the volcano of Piton de la Fournaise. Among the most active in the world, it sometimes offers visitors the spectacle of its eruptions – provided that they take the necessary precautions.

The Piton de L'Eau is a secondary exit from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. Its gigantic crater includes a volcanic lake with deceptively calm air.

Photo: Dunog / Wikimedia

In the Piton des Neiges massif, the Trou de Fer (Iron Hole) is an impressive crater of 300 meters deep. This exceptional attraction was only recently explored for the first time, but it is possible to fly over it in a helicopter.

Between the regions of Saint-Denis and La Possession, there's a beautiful village with historic monuments: La Grande Chaloupe. The town is separated into two by the ravine of the same name. It bears witness to the different periods that marked La Réunion since the 18th century. In this photo, for example, we see a lazaret, a place that was used to quarantine the enslaved who arrived on the island.

Photo: Thierry Caro / Wikimedia

In the heart of a landscape of heavily wooded mountains, the Grand Étang (Great Pond) is the largest natural body of water on the entire island.

Image: insel-la-reunion.com

The capital of Réunion and the most populated municipality of the French overseas territories, Saint-Denis is worth a visit for its historical heritage, but also for the Électropicales, the biggest electronic music and rap festival in all of France.

In the south of the island, the seaside resort of Saint-Pierre is famous for the maritime landscape presented by its wide seafront. There's also entertainment and nightlife which will not make you regret stopping there!

Renowned for its coral reefs, Grande Anse Beach offers visitors a setting worthy of a postcard. It is also a privileged spot for scuba diving enthusiasts.

To the west of the island, the beach of Saint-Leu is located in a seaside resort whose calm would almost make you forget that it was the starting point of the slave revolt in 1811.

The Takamaka Valley is crossed by the Rivière des Marsouins, one of the longest waterways in Réunion. You can enjoy a very pleasant scenery of waterfalls and admire a pretty panorama of wild nature at the top of the road.

The French describe a steep valley made by glacial erosion as a 'cirque'. Accessible only by trails or by air, the Cirque de Mafate has a very steep relief and overlooks sumptuous landscapes. It's an ideal destination for hikers and nature lovers!

Located in the town of the same name, the Cirque de Cilaos reveals a spectacular high mountain landscape. Cilaos is symbolically twinned with the alpine town of Chamonix in mainland France.

In the center of the island, the Cirque de Salazie shelters a village, renowned since the 19th century for the quality of its thermal waters. It is overlooked to the northwest by the Roche Écrite.

Culminating at 2,276 meters above sea level, the Roche Écrite is one of the few peaks in Réunion that is located at the intersection of two cirques or steep valleys. After crossing a magnificent nature reserve to climb the mountain, you can admire both Salazie (in the photo) on one side and the Cirque de Mafate on the other.

If you like splendid panoramas, the Makes Window is made for you. Located in the forest of the same name, this place offers a remarkable view of the Cirque de Cilaos and other peaks in the background, such as the Piton des Neiges.

In the Hauts de l'Entre-Deux, the ascent of the Dimitile leads through an incredible nature reserve. When you have reached the summit, you will see a magnificent panorama overlooking the Cilaos in particular. It's a must for hiking enthusiasts!

Photo: ile-de-la-reunion.net

Accessible from the village of Dos d'Âne, the summit of Cap Noir offers another view of the Cirque de Mafate and the natural splendors of Réunion.

This plateau located in the Hauts de l'île is completely bare and has a lunar aspect. It is said to have been created by the last eruption of the neighboring Piton Chisny. The plain has an almost supernatural appearance that stands out from the other lush landscapes of the island.