Consejos prácticos
Staying in a cirque: Salazie or Cilaos?
La Réunion6 minpor Sejournia
Salazie and Cilaos are reached by car. Mafate is not. The choice comes down to two road dead-ends with very different approaches.
The cirques are three open basins cut into the Piton des Neiges massif. Two are reached by road, Salazie from the east coast and Cilaos from the south. Mafate has no road, which makes it a case apart.
Salazie and Hell-Bourg
Salazie is the greenest of the three cirques, and the easiest to reach: the road leaves the east coast and climbs without tight switchbacks. Hell-Bourg, a listed village inside the cirque, holds both catalogue guesthouse rooms, each with breakfast and a view of the ridges.
Cilaos
Cilaos has to be earned. The road climbs in switchbacks from Saint-Louis, and the drive is part of the trip. The catalogue offers a villa there with a pool and a hot tub, for eight guests. The village is the start for the Piton des Neiges.
| Access | In the catalogue | Suited to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salazie | Road from the east coast | 2 guesthouse rooms | One night, no walking |
| Cilaos | Switchback road from Saint-Louis | 1 villa, 8 guests | Two nights, walking base |
| Mafate | On foot only | None, huts on site | Two days minimum |
The three cirques, compared on access and sleeping.
Salazie
- Access
- Road from the east coast
- In the catalogue
- 2 guesthouse rooms
- Suited to
- One night, no walking
Cilaos
- Access
- Switchback road from Saint-Louis
- In the catalogue
- 1 villa, 8 guests
- Suited to
- Two nights, walking base
Mafate
- Access
- On foot only
- In the catalogue
- None, huts on site
- Suited to
- Two days minimum
Salazie is visited, Cilaos is earned, Mafate has to be deserved. Three levels of effort for three cirques.
- Take Salazie for a first night in the highlands, with no serious walking.
- Choose Cilaos if the Piton des Neiges is tomorrow's plan.
- Book Mafate separately, with a hut night and a light pack.
- Keep the car: neither road cirque can be covered on foot end to end.
Lo que dicen los visitantes
2 comentarios
Bertrand
Hell-Bourg in the morning, before the coaches, is another village. Getting up early pays.
Léa
The Cilaos road is long but superb. Allow a day to go up and back down.
Para leer después
42 alojamientos en La Reunión
La ficha indica la superficie, la capacidad y el precio antes de cualquier solicitud de reserva.