Reunion Route du Volcan (63 km)

Saint Pierre to Pas de Bellecombe

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Why this ride

Out of Saint-Pierre, one way: 63 km, roughly 1 h 05 in the saddle. It goes by way of Bourg Murat and Plaine des Sables. The highest point is about 1,300 m. It crosses from Réunion into France - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Roadbook

1. Saint Pierre start

   Saint-Pierre is the biggest town on the south coast of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, and it feels like a proper city rather than a resort: some seventy-six thousand people, wide avenues, a lively seafront, a covered market, schools and traffic jams. It is also where you start the long climb toward the volcano, so the first sensation of the ride is leaving the heat of the coast behind.

   Réunion is a volcanic island, young and steep. Its two peaks are the dormant Piton des Neiges, the highest point in the Indian Ocean islands at over three thousand metres, and the very active Piton de la Fournaise in the south-east, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Much of the island is protected as a national park, and the whole landscape of ridges, cirques and ravines was added to the UNESCO list in 2010. That backdrop matters, because the ride from here goes from palm trees and sugar cane to cloud forest and finally to bare lava over barely fifty kilometres.

   The road heads inland through the suburbs of Le Tampon, a big town on the slope above, and then up the Plaine des Cafres, a high farming plateau where it can be ten or fifteen degrees cooler than the shore. Cows graze on green pasture that looks oddly like the Alps, and the air smells of eucalyptus and wet earth. Corners are mostly broad and smooth. You should still expect rain, slippery patches under the trees and sudden mist, as the clouds tend to build against the mountains from mid-morning on.

   Before you leave town, do the practical jobs. Saint-Pierre has all the fuel, cash and food you could want, and there is little to buy on the volcano road except a coffee at the plateau villages. The seafront is worth a slow look in the morning, with market stalls selling vanilla, rum infused with fruits and spices, and the local rice-and-meat dishes called rougail and cari, usually spicy and eaten with lentils. Start early: on this island the best light, clearest views and driest roads are all before noon.

2. Bourg Murat scenic

   Bourg-Murat is a roadside village on the high plateau between Réunion's coast and its volcano, and it is a place of mist, cattle and the smell of wet grass. The altitude is felt immediately: after the warm, humid coast the air is cool, often cloudy, and in winter you may even see frost. The Plaine des Cafres, which surrounds the village, is dairy country, with green pastures, cows and farms, and it feels oddly like the highlands of Europe on a tropical island.

   The main reason to stop is the Cité du Volcan, a museum on the edge of the village devoted to the Piton de la Fournaise, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It erupts every year or two, usually in the uninhabited summit area, and lava often flows down to the sea on the east coast where the road gets crossed by black rock. The museum is a good place to learn how the island was built and what to do when an eruption occurs, and the cafés nearby are warm refuges when the weather turns.

   The Route du Volcan climbs from here through a landscape of forest and heath, and it becomes steadily wilder. The road is well maintained, with smooth tarmac and long, steady bends, but it is a mountain road and the weather can change quickly, with fog and sudden rain. Mornings are best for clear views of the volcano and the surrounding peaks, and by afternoon cloud usually rolls in. In winter it can be bitingly cold, so bring layers and waterproofs.

   Practicalities are easy here. Le Tampon, the large town about ten kilometres down the slope, has petrol stations, supermarkets and everything you might need, and some fuel is usually available along the main road in the plains villages as well. Fill up before you climb to the volcano, because there is nothing beyond. Food in Bourg-Murat is typically Creole: rice, beans, rougail sausage and chicken curry, along with the local cheese and yoghurt from the dairy farms. A sweet bread or a bowl of soup hits the spot on a chilly day.

   Réunion is a French department, so euros are used and French is spoken, along with Creole. A friendly bonjour goes a long way.

3. Plaine des Sables scenic

   Nothing prepares you for the Plaine des Sables. Climb out of the forest on the Route du Volcan and the world turns to rust, ash and black cinder, a plain of broken volcanic gravel at around two thousand metres that looks like Mars or the Moon, depending on who is telling the story. Space agencies have actually used landscapes like this to test equipment. Scattered cones rise from the plain, red and black and brown, and not a tree grows on it.

   It was made by the Piton de la Fournaise, which sits at the end of the road and is still one of the most active volcanoes on the planet. Over thousands of years, its eruptions have dropped ash and scoria across the plateau, and the wind and rain have worked on them since. The colours shift with the light: pink at dawn, silver at midday, and a deep red-brown when the cloud shadows pass. There is often a strange silence, interrupted only by wind, and a smell of wet stone. Hardy plants such as heather-like shrubs and small orange lichens grow in the cracks, and the occasional bird of prey circles above.

   The ride across is easy, with a smooth road through a landscape that has almost no other vehicles, and hardly any bends to speak of before the final climb. But the conditions are demanding. Cloud arrives with little warning, visibility can drop to a few metres, and the temperature falls sharply at this height. In wet weather the road can be slick, and wind across the open plain can push a bike. Go early in the morning if you can, when the air is clear and the plain is empty.

   There are no services at all on the plain. Le Tampon, fifteen kilometres or more behind you, is the place to fill the tank and buy water and food, and the nearest cafés are back in Bourg-Murat. Carry warm layers, rain gear, water and a charged phone.

   At the end of the road a viewpoint looks down into the huge crater of the Enclos Fouqué, and on clear days you can see the cone of the volcano itself, black and quiet and entirely worth the cold.

4. Pas de Bellecombe finish

   The road ends at a railing, and beyond it the ground falls away into a huge crater. Pas de Bellecombe is the viewpoint on the rim of the Enclos Fouqué, the vast caldera wall that contains Piton de la Fournaise, and it sits at around twenty-three hundred metres. Standing here you look down about a hundred metres onto a flat floor of black lava, with the small cinder cone of Formica Leo in the foreground and the main volcanic cone rising beyond it, rust and charcoal and sometimes steaming.

   Getting here is a quiet pleasure. From the plateau village of Bourg-Murat, the forest road climbs through tree heather and then through fog-soaked scrub that gets thinner and lower until you are riding across a landscape that looks like another planet. The road is narrow and mostly smooth, with long bends, and the temperature falls fast. Wind can be harsh, clouds often roll in by early afternoon, and visibility can drop to a few metres, so the cleanest views come before ten in the morning. Bring a warm layer; it can feel like autumn in the middle of the tropics.

   The volcano is one of the most active on Earth and erupts several times in a typical year, usually from vents inside the enclosure, which is why the area is monitored closely. When an eruption is under way or the alert level is raised, the prefecture can close the road, the car park and the trails, so check the local news before committing. Most eruptions are effusive, with lava flowing slowly across the old floor, rather than violent explosions, but the authorities do not take chances.

   A staircase leads down from the viewpoint for those who want to walk the crater. It is a serious hike, across rough lava, and the weather can change quickly.

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