Réunion Island, a region of France, yet 10 hours away from Paris by plane. It has been my home for the past couple months, and until I took my long journey here from California, I had no clue, about this true gem of an island. So I’ll be sharing just why I feel this way—from the jaw-dropping landscape, seemingly limitless activities, to the incredible food and culture.

Maido, Réunion Island

The Landscape

Réunion Island, sits south of the equator, within the Indian Ocean, where it bellowed up from below the sea—being the young, active volcano that it is. The island is surrounded by shark infested lagoons, with the collapsed center-cone of a massive volcano, at it’s center. Razor sharp mountain ridges, and deep winding canyons, dominate much of the island. Peaks, rise as high as 8,632 feet (2,631 m). On the west coast, you’ll encounter beautiful white and black sand beaches. On any given day, the weather can be dry and hot, while a short drive away, it’s possible to catch heavy rains. Cruising the roughly 124 mile (200 km) road around the island, will take you through areas flanked by lush rain forest, and vast lava fields.

Cascade Biberon, Reunion Island

An Adventurer’s Paradise Reunion is host to limitless adventure. One thing that stood out to me, is just the uncommon number of athletes on the island. No matter how hot the day, or steep the road, I’ll always witness a few people jogging or cycling by. It’s no wonder though, as there is world class hiking, scuba diving, rock climbing, mountain biking, canyoneering, and one of the most challenging ultra-thons to be found here, known as the Grand Raid.

Takamaka, Reunion Island

The Grand Raid de la Reunion

Also known as La Diagonale des Fous (The Madmen’s Diagonal), is a true ultrathon, that cuts clear across the island. An annual race, that is 100 miles (162km) in length, with a total elevation gain of over 6 miles(9,600 m.) It is far more than just challenging, with the top competitors, taking over 23 hrs to finish.

Hiking

Hiking high up in the clouds, to the top of an active volcano.

By far one of my favorite activities here, is simply setting forth on foot, along any one of the countless trails that could be found. From going to the top of an active volcano, to peaceful jungle treks leading to waterfalls. Many of the hikes are well marked and maintained, and range from multi-day treks, to 1 hour walks. There is also no better way to end a hike, by taking a swim, in one of the pristine pools of water, that are scattered throughout Reunion.

Young boy braves the cliff dive, Reunion Island

Rock Climbing

I found it well worth the effort, to haul my climbing gear, halfway around the world to Reunion. The climbing community is strong here, the rock is solid, and the routes are well documented. You can find a local climbing guide book, at the sports store called Decathlon, in the capital city of Saint Denis. Almost all of the established climbing relies on securing your rope to bolts along the way up, which is known as sport climbing. The length of the climbs very from the height of small boulders, to mountaineering routes, that can easily take a full day to top out on.

Small waterfall in the forest, Reunion Island

Scuba Diving

Warm waters, sea turtles, and underwater canyons, have kept me interested in exploring the waters that surround Reunion Island. So far I’ve been diving off the coast of the Saint Gilles, an area of the island surrounded by a natural lagoon. From what I’ve been told, Reunion offers a few shipwrecks, and high quality diving nearly along the entire shoreline of the island.

Corail Plongée

A top-notch dive shop, located in Saint Gilles Les Bains. They have a couple fluent English speakers on staff well as.

Phone: +33 2 62 24 37 25

Address: Zone Portuaire, 97434, St-Gilles Les Bains

Surfing

The island also offers some incredible surf, yet sadly, Reunion is now one of the most dangerous places in the world when it comes to shark attacks—with a dozen occurring, 5 of them fatal, just within the past 2 years alone. It is still controversial, and unknown, why the shark attacks started to happen in 2011. Many locals believe it to be the result of a fishing ban, meant to protect the reef. Even with surfing now being illegal here, I still see a few dedicated locals paddling out once in a while, braving both the waves and deadly odds. Surprisingly though, shark sightings while scuba diving, are extremely rare—consider yourself lucky, if you actually spot a tiger or bull shark.

Getting Around

Lava beach cliffs, Reunion Island

Between the heavy traffic, steep windy roads, and the unreliable bus system—transportation can be a real hassle on Reunion Island. Don’t gauge how long a bus or car journey will take, by the distance seen on a map. A drive to one of the inner mountain circuits, can take nearly an hour for a few miles of progress. This is thanks to the unrelenting, steep, narrow roads—which demand your full amount of attention. If traveling during rush hour traffic, even costal driving can be painstaking—otherwise, on the weekend, it’s possible to circle the entire island in a day.

Salazie, Réunion Island

Food & Culture

I have to give it to the French, they know how to eat. Despite being an isolated island, I’m never too far from a morning market, full of French delicacies, along with local and tropical cuisine. Prices are all over the place though, and are sometimes bewildering. Due to seasonal storms, many tropical fruit, such as mango and lychee, are not available year round, and can be priced much higher than what you would pay in far-away Paris.

Local market, Reunion Island

A delicious Creole meal

Church in Sainte-Anne, Reunion Island

While a fair amount of the 800,000 inhabitants are from mainland France, there’s also a great amount of local diversity. There are ethnic backgrounds from all around the world here—India, South East Asia, China, and of course, Africa. French is most widely spoken, but many of the locals, only speak Creole. You’ll find it very challenging to get by on only English, so be sure to learn a few French phrases before arrival, and to win over the locals, a bit of Creole as well.

A Journey Worth Taking

An old bridge, Reunion Island

If I had used a thousand more words, I still couldn’t properly describe exactly is so special about Reunion Island. As always, to discover this, involves a journey of your own—a journey well worth taking.