Overall, what I really liked about the trek is that it was a point to point trek, staying in mountain huts (called gites in Reunion) and crossing the tropical cirques into volcanic territory.

This picture is of Cirque du Mafate which is only accessible by foot or helicopter. Each day the trekking was like this, always walking through lush forests and plantations and through little Creole hamlets.


The scenery was magnificent. Here, Wayne, a geologist is sitting at the Col du Taibit, looking back down at the Cirque de Mafate and the route of the last 2 days of walking we’ve just completed.


From the same viewpoint, looking the other way, you could see Cilaos village our next destination, nestled in the Cirque du Cilaos. The scenery was just stunning.


Cilaos village in the morning, a beautiful Creole village by the lake, sitting in a natural amphitheatre of Cirque du Cilaos. Later in the day, there was a thunderstorm and we were sitting by the pool at our hotel. Once the thunderstorm had passed, we walked into town and watched the waterfalls cascade down the amphitheatre walls. We had a free day in Cilaos and went to the local market and ate a lot of ice cream.


Our amazing guide, Claire, who has lived in Reunion for 25 years. She knows everyone in all the villages, and knows everything about all Reunion’s geology, flora and fauna. The island is her passion. This photo is taken on the top of the Piton des Neiges at sunrise.


We had a pre-dawn start at 4am to climb Piton des Neiges for sunrise. This is the whole group triumphant at the 3070m summit, the highest point on the island and also the Indian Ocean! An amazing experience which was followed by a breakfast of toast and hot chocolate at our gite.


This picture was taken from the viewpoint looking towards the Trou de Fer waterfall, after a walk through the ancient Foret du Belouve, which really felt like a proper tropical jungle. Huge significant note - a jungle with no toxic snakes, leeches or malaria.....they don’t exist on Reunion.


Me and the Piton de la Fournaise. Out of the picture are the ice-cold beers that Claire our guide had carried up for us – I am very, very happy. Sundowners and a volcano. The perfect ending to the day.


Walking down from the Piton across lava tubes – the coolest formations – this one looks like the back of an alligator. As a small anecdote, the Piton and its surrounds are where the original, and superior (?) Charlton Heston Planet of the Apes was filmed.


Sunrise from outside the Gite du Volcan where we’d overnighted and an amazing inversion across the Indian Ocean. To be very honest, we are actually just standing in the car park for this photo, so it’s true to say that everywhere on Reunion has a view to die for.


My favourite picture. The day we climbed the Piton we had some early cloud but as we start going up the volcano, the clouds started to clear and looking down.....there was a RAINBOW. This is Wayne, the geologist, in geology heaven.


You will be drinking a lot of rhum arrangé – all home brewed with lots of fruit. At times it felt like Rum, Rum everywhere and too much rum to drink! Lots of impromptu tastings and rum is served after every meal


When the rum gets too much, there’s always bottled beer. Known locally as Dodo. Cold and delicious.


Food is plentiful but quite simple. Dinner was always rice and lentils and a meat dish – goat and chicken are used frequently. Watch out for chicken feet. There’s no need to eat them, but I volunteered!


One of our beautiful mountain huts – called gites in Reunion. This one is the Gite du Volcan from which we made our ascent of Piton de la Fournaise. Simple bunk bed arrangements for sleeping and communal eating but every single one of them was great.


One final panoramic view. This one is from the garden of Gite de Belouve overlooking the Cirque du Salazie. Enjoy.

Get in touch with Michelle if you are interested in joining this holiday or just want to know more about it. Michelle would really enjoy the excuse to talk about Reunion some more.

A couple of practical notes:

Being a French territory, the island has fantastic connections from Paris and uses the Euro as its currency. The culture is a mix of French European and Creole. Despite its tropical nature, there is no malaria on the island.

Take a look at KE’s Reunion - Paradise Island Trekking or give us a call to plan your next holiday on +44 (0) 17687 73966 or USA/Canada toll-free 1888 630 4415.