Cilaos

Where the name comes from

The name is thought to come from the Malagasy “tsilaosa”, the place you never leave. The cirque, reachable only by a winding mountain road, is also a municipality in its own right, renowned for its lentils, wine and embroidery.

History

Cilaos is the only one of Réunion's three cirques (natural amphitheatres) to be a spa resort. Its name, of Malagasy origin, means “the place you never leave” — a nod both to the cirque's isolation and to its inhabitants' attachment to this land hemmed in at over 1,200 m above sea level. The cirque's first inhabitants were maroons (escaped slaves) fleeing the coastal plantations in the 18th century, who found a natural, almost impregnable refuge here.

Cilaos's hot springs, known as early as the 17th century but exploited commercially from the 19th century, drew a well-to-do clientele who came to take the waters and rest. The road linking Cilaos to the coast was only completed in 1932 — a feat of engineering given the ravines and cliffs ringing the cirque — doing away with the five-to-six-hour walk that had been needed to get there.

Cilaos is renowned for its local wine produced on the slopes of the cirque and for Cilaos embroidery, a textile tradition unique in France's overseas territories, handed down from mother to daughter since the 18th century. The cirque is the starting point for climbs up the Piton des Neiges (3,070 m, the highest point in the Indian Ocean), reached via the GR R1 on a two-day hike.

Landscapes

Cilaos is a deep cirque at 1,200 m, surrounded by basalt ramparts that cut it off almost completely from the rest of the island. The floor of the cirque is taken up by farming terraces, orchards and the hot springs. The surrounding peaks, including the Piton des Neiges, are covered in mountain forest and high-altitude heathland.

Local culture

Cilaos has turned isolation into a culture of its own: Cilaos embroidery, local wine, hiking and the hot springs define a unique local identity. The cirque draws hikers from all over the world for the climb up the Piton des Neiges. The people of Cilaos are known for their warm welcome and their pride in belonging to this exceptional place.

Why it matters

Piton des Neiges, spa waters, Cilaos lentils, wine and embroidery: Cilaos is a world apart, suspended between ramparts, with a unique cultural and farming identity.