Tour des Cirques: Salazie

Salazie, the cirque to the East, a place all it's own.  Mafate and Cilaos have some similarities whereas Salazie is it's own place altogether.  Towering waterfalls, lush green vines, an overwhelming feeling of being in the jungle.... Salazie is absolutely beautiful.  While we were venturing to Salazie, we made a stop at two other places: Takamaka and Trou de Fer.  Both of these incredible sights border Salazie and are full of stunning waterfalls.  Takamaka is also the home of the largest spider I have ever seen in my life, tarantulas included.  The spider made it's home between two large trees, it's web strung across the path accessing a hike that we didn't take.  I asked one of my friends to climb up the tree and place their hands beside it for scale, but I didn't get any takers.  

We stayed the night in a gite in Hell-Bourg, the main town in Salazie.  Hell-Bourg is the jumping off point for several activities in the cirque such as hiking and canyoning.  I had been in Salazie once before for a canyoning trip, an exciting adventure where we hiked to the top of a canyon and used several means to get down the river.  Sliding down naturally made waterslides, repelling down waterfalls and cliffs, and finally jumping down a hundred and fifty foot zip line, we made it to the bottom of the canyon in little under six hours.  This time into Salazie, however, my companions and I opted for a drive to the edge of the world, that is, the fine rim line between Mafate and Salazie.  It felt like it was the edge of the world, and as we stood at the top of the Col des Boeufs, the passage between the two cirques, we were enveloped in the afternoon mists that gather around the edge of the cirques.  The next day, we hiked to Trou de Fer, a deep earth impression that is surrounded by waterfalls.  The hike turned out to be much longer than we had prepared for, but the destination was worth it.  The journey itself proved to not be horrible either, as I experienced the most fun hike I have endeavored to take on the island.  

The drive into Salazie

cool house at night

another part of the house at night

looking into Hell Bourg

looking into Hell Bourg

Playground at the top of the world

Shrine at the Col des Boeufs

On the drive to Salazie

Takamaka

Takamaka

View from Takamaka to trail head

Trou de Fer

Trou de Fer

Trou de Fer

Trou de Fer

Trou de Fer

End result of hiking in the mud

Tour des Cirques: Cilaos

The last few weekends have been filled with adventures into Réunion's three cirques: Cilaos, Salazie, and Mafate.  These cirques were created by Piton des Neiges, a now extinct volcano that is the high point of the island, and Piton de la Fournaise, a currently active volcano on the south side of the island.

 Each cirque is unique and all three deserved a full weekend, or in some cases two weekends, of exploration.  We'll begin with the one that is closest to St. Pierre: Cilaos.

Cilaos is the beginning point for the most daunting hike in Réunion Island: Piton des Neiges.  The highest point in the Indian Ocean, Piton des Neiges, when not covered in clouds, is the dominating landmark in Cilaos.  The largest church in the town of Cilaos was built right under the mountain.  In the early morning, looking at the spire will allow you to look at the high peak.  Ten thousand feet high, it's hard not to constantly look up and be in awe of the dormant volcano.  On the weekend that I was there, it was covered by clouds pretty much the whole time.  I did happen to catch a glimpse of it peeking through the clouds above Notre Dame des Piton des Neiges.  

The rest of Cilaos is magnificent; it truly is a spectacular place to visit.  I have visited Cilaos more than the other cirques, mostly because of the proximity to St. Pierre.  Several images from earlier posts have been taken on hikes in the cirque, but for this particular weekend I decided that I not only wanted to hike around but also spend the night.  Réunion has great places to stay known as gites.  Gites range from very basic to almost hotel like and all are fairly reasonably priced.  The one in Cilaos that my friend Amanda and I stayed in was spectacular.  It was decorated in American Indian style, with tipis, portraits of Sitting Bull, and eagle feathers everywhere.  There was also the occasional cowboy hat perched on the staircase.  The beds were comfy, the air was cool, and the gite employees very sweet.  

Cilaos is known for fresh water.  They bottle it in a plant outside of town.  They also grow grapes for the only wine made on the island, as well as Cilaos lentils.  An embroidery "factory" creates some of the most beautiful artwork on the island, and a spa using natural water is a wonderful respite for the weary hiker coming down from Piton des Neiges. The weekend was a success and both Amanda and I had a great time wandering around the town and hiking in the surrounding mountains.  

possibly asylum  

Cilaos water plant