A small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean offers an intriguing vacation to the jaded traveller

Mention Reunion to the majority of Thais and the chances are they'll think you are referring to a get-together rather than the island in the Indian Ocean.

In fact, when I first heard of my up-coming trip to the island, which lies 800 kilometres to the east of Madagascar, I thought I'd probably prefer meeting up with old friends.

But that was before I discovered just how much Reunion has to offer, and it's enough to skip parties back home for a whole year.

To begin with, this French overseas departement has several tropical beaches, just like the Seychelles and Mauritius, its popular neighbours. However, with the exception of one small golden stretch, Reunion's beaches are covered with fine black sand of the volcanic variety washed by rolling waves that attract both local and visiting surfers.

The coastal landscape is rugged, a perfect match for its extinct and active volcanoes, towering mountains and deep canyons.

While the black beaches don't receive rave reviews from the masses of tourists, many of them French, who flock here every year, Reunion is a paradise for nature lovers, especially those who are ready to hike up its three mountain cirques, or drive along the winding road to explore the volcanic landscape.

Patrice Lacaille, our guide from Reunion Tourism, refers to the three cirques on Reunion as great natural amphitheatres. Cirque is the name given to a collapsed feature in the landscape - otherwise known as a caldera - following a volcanic eruption.

The circques of Cilaos, Mafate and Salazie are huge excavations, some 9.5km across, lined by walls of dizzying heights.

We head here by helicopter on our first morning, an experience that is both awesome and scary. The chopper hovers high up above the lagoon, and below we can see a panoramic view of the ocean. The pilot speaks French more fluently than English but we are able to follow most of his explanations of the stunning scenery unfolding beneath us.

As we fly inland, we can make out lush vegetation on the hilltops. Deeper into the interior, we can see volcanic rocks dotted here and there. Flying over the cirques, with small villages far below, is a thrilling experience. At Salazie, we fly over the huge waterfalls cascading from the high rocky cliff. The sight is so magnificent that I miss a photo opportunity!

We continue our flight between two mountain ranges to Mafate, where the helicopter descends and gently drops to the ground in a mysterious land.

La Nouvelle, Mafate's only village, is roughly 30 minutes' flying time from St Gilles, a small town to the south of St Denis, the island's capital. Hikers need at least two hours from the nearest road to reach the village, where they can also eat and stay the night, before continuing their adventures the following day.

On a balcony in front of a small guesthouse called Le Poinsettia, a local woman serves us a lunch of chouchou (squash) salad, and a few cari (curry) dishes with spicy pineapple and chilli dips on the side. The Thais in our party particularly enjoy the Creole chilli dips, which are extremely spicy!

"It's typical Creole cuisine," explains Lacaille. "Any meat or fish can be made as a cari, with tomatoes, finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, chilli, salt and pepper cooked slowly and served with rice."

Our glasses are filled with good Bordeaux wine, a reminder that while the island may be in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it is officially a region of France.

The helicopter trip finishes with a view of the beaches of St Paul on the west coast, before dropping us back at our starting point. As we head back to the hotel in St Gilles, I notice that even island paradises suffer from traffic snarls.

"There are public buses, but no railway line. There was one a long time ago, but nobody used it. Today, most islanders own their own cars," Lacaille explains.

"A new road is under construction and the railway is scheduled to reopen in the near future."

The next day, we travel to the eastern hinterland towards the Piton de la Fournaise, which at an elevation of 2,631 metres is like going on a trip to the moon, except you have to go by car, not spaceship. As the driver maintains a steady speed round the sharp bends in the winding road, I start feeling nauseous.

But the discomfort is worth every second once we reach the top. The view is amazing as we gaze into the crater of the volcano, a bizarre yet surprisingly pretty sight.

The Piton de la Fournaise (Peak of the Furnace) is a basaltic shield volcano and one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It's erupted at least 153 times since records started in 1640.

Nearby is the Pas de Bellecombe, where a parking lot and toilets are available to visitors. The Pas de Bellecombe is situated above the caldera rim cliffs and offers good views over the northeastern part of the caldera.

From here, we cut across the island to the eastern coastline at St Rose on the N2 highway to see some old lava flows from the Grand Brûlé leading to the ocean. We also hope to see some fresh lava as we have heard that the most recent eruption has just ceased.

But the road is still closed. According to the website of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Programme, on May 3 lava flows up to 40 metres thick covered an estimated four square kilometres. The estimated erupted volume was 120 million cubic metres, making the event one of the largest known eruptions of the Piton de la Fournaise in history.

We drive back towards the north, back into the mountains again and I begin to wonder if it's worth coming this far up the cirque of Salazie. We pass vanilla plantations, lychee orchards, chouchou shrubs and many remote villages before finally arriving at the small village of Hellbourg.

Hellbourg turns out to be absolutely beautiful, belying its name. The air is fresh, the scenery gorgeous and the traditional Creole buildings that date back to the 19th century are stunning.

It was once a spa town but the hot springs were blocked by landslides. Today, it is known as one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The Most Beautiful Villages in France"), an award given to around 150 of the country's most striking small communities.

The next day, we drive down from Hellbourg, passing close to the great plunging cascades, among them the one we spotted from the helicopter the other day. We stop by the roadside alongside a high cliff covered with green moss and watch as the water splashes onto the road.

As I gaze around at the amazing scene, I think back to the questions in my mind when I first heard about the trip.

I may not have known anything about Reunion before I came here, but now that I'm back in Bangkok, I don't where to begin - with the volcanoes, the vanilla, the food, the Creole architecture or perhaps the island's traffic problems.

The writer travelled as a guest of Air Austral and the Reunion Tourist Board.

Vipasai Niyamabha

The Nation