Cirque de Cilaos - Réunion

One word comes to mind to describe the scenery in Réunion - spectacular.
When we arrived Phil and Norma had already hired a car so Richard was added as driver giving us wheels.
As well as the coastal strips the island comprises 3 "cirques" surrounded by mountains and, in the south the active volcano.

The road to Cilaos

Our first trip was a reconnaissance to the Cirque de Cilaos, the most accessible of the three. Accessible is somewhat open to interpretation. Although there is a motorway down the coastal strip on the west side, the road up to the town of Cilaos is very much a mountain road - rising some 1200m through a reputed series of 400 bends.

Cilaos - the church

 The town of Cilaos is surrounded on three sides by the mountains, making an impressive amphitheatre.

On the road to Ilot des Cordes

The villages in the cirques are called Ilots. We took the road out the Ilot des Cordes, which starts with an alarming set of very steep hairpin bends before moderating very slightly and passing through yet more breathtaking scenery- mountains,vineyards and lentil fields.

Rainbow over the valley..

 As the clouds form later in the day they give rise to isolated showers, which in turn cause unusual rainbow effects, some viewed from above

..and in the valley

After the initial reconnaissance we returned the following week for a two-night stay so we could do some walking before the clouds descended.

Top of the Plate Forme waterfall

On the way up we went off on a side road some 2 km before the town of Cilaos to a small parking area in Mare Seche, from which we could walk downhill to the waterfall of Plate Forme.

It is possible to continue on this walk across the river to come out on the main road. It was not at all clear where the river is crossed, the bridge above the waterfall having collapsed, nor where the path on the other side led. All academic as we intended to retrace our steps anyway.

View from the path 

Crossing the river

The next walk was to another waterfall - Bras Rouge. The path for it starts in Cilaos itself and again heads down hill to the waterfall - a relatively easy walk. From the waterfall it becomes slightly more difficult, continuing largely uphill and crossing a number of dry or nearly dry watercourses before eventually reaching the road to Ilot des Cordes. This took us about 3 hours 15 minutes - about 1.5 times the estimated time which clearly does not allow for stopping to rest or to factor in the  wows! It is possible to continue on another path back to Cilaos but we opted to return along the road, and catch a bus. On reaching an intermediate bus stop Richard decided to return on foot so that the car could be waiting at the bus stop in town for the others. Good planning as when the pink bus arrived it was non stopping and full; so Richard drove up to collect the party before retiring to the hotel swimming pool and sampling some more of the island specialty - lentils!

A friendly bird

Cilaos church is clearly visible 

The river gorge

On our last day in Cilaos, feeling rather stiff from the last two days' exertions, we opted for short walks, mostly in the woods. La Roche Merveilleuse gives excellent views of the cirque and the town.

Cilaos from La Roche Merveilleuse

Intricate work

From the vastness of the scenery we marveled at the minute detail in the handiwork undertaken at the Maison de la  Broderie.