Reunion Island
Reunion is a French overseas department. This small mountainous and volcanic tropical island was formed some 3 million years ago. It has a total surface area of 2.512 square kilometers but continues to expand owing to its still active volcano, la Fournaise. Its other now dormant volcano, le Piton, 3,069 meters above sea level, is the highest point on the island.
Geographic location
Located in the Indian Ocean at 55°3 longitude East and 21°5 latitude South above the tropic of Capricorn, Reunion Island is 210 kilometers from the Island of Mauritius, 800 kilometers from Madagascar and 9,200 kilometers from Paris.
Reunion’s appeal is not due to its beaches but more to its 500 km of footpaths and hiking trails that criss cross awesome and diverse landscapes, from virgin and lush tropical forests to moonscapes devoid of vegetation. Reunion’s active volcano, la Fournaise, is also very popular. In 1998, during the volcano’s longest eruption for a century, over 20,000 local and foreign visitors rushed to the footpath to watch the flowing lava.
A tropical climat
The hot and humid climate is tempered by the Trade Winds which blow from south to east. These winds and a mountain chain split the island into two climatic zones :
- The East with its very humid windward coast, numerous waterfalls and verdant landscape
- The West with its hot and dry leeward coast and beaches where the weather is fine almost all year round
The temperature on the coast never drops below 19°C but may fall below zero at altitude in "the uplands". Maximum temperatures rarely exceed 32-34°C.
Reunion Island has two seasons :
- The southern winter: May to November
The weather is cool (16° to 25° on the coast), quite dry and usually fine. This is the best time of the year for walking and hiking. - Southern summer: December to April
This season is hot and rainy with coastal temperatures ranging from 18°C to 31C°, sometimes rising to 33°C. In the hills and mountains (above 500 m ) or "uplands", temperatures range from 4°C to 18°C and it is not uncommon for the temperature to fall to below zero at night.
During the summer months, the island may be subject to tropical low pressure. This is an opportunity to admire the island’s beautiful waterfalls and an ideal time to go swimming since the weather on the beaches is fine almost all year long.
Population
As its name suggests, Reunion contains many different ethnic groups, from the descendants of the early French and European colonialist, Cafres who descend from African slaves, Malagasies, Tamils, Malabars who descend from Indian enlisted soldiers who came to the island freely or by force at different periods and two more independent ethic groups: the Chinese and the Muslim Indians called «zarabes» and more recently the Comorians. This ethnic mosaic lives in perfect harmony and contributes to the island’s exceptional cultural and culinary diversity. You can easily discover a pagoda, mosque, Tamil temple or church on the same walk. Mixed marriages are commonplace and give to the ethnic mixing from which the Creoles of Reunion originate. The French from mainland France are known as «zoreils ».
In 1999 Reunion had a population of over 705,070 inhabitants. A distinctive feature of Reunion is its young people: 60% of its population is under the age of 20.
Time zone
- October to March : Reunion is three hours ahead of mainland France
- April to September : 2 hours ahead of main France
Local time is GMT + 4.
In winter the sun sets at 17.22 pm and at 18.38 pm in summer.