10 things to do on explosive Réunion

1 Climb one of the world’s most active volcanoes, Piton de la Fournaise, pictured above.

2 Spend five days walking Mafate, the most remote cirque. The tourist board will help book guides and accommodation.

3 Go canyoning, mountain biking, paraplaning or riding. Again, you can book through the tourist board.

4 Head to L’Ermitage-Les-Bains for white, sandy beaches and some excellent snorkelling in the lagoon.

5 Take a helicopter ride through Réunion’s vast calderas or cirques. Trips cost à260 for 45 minutes with Corail (corail-helicopteres.com).

6 Visit the hi-tech volcanology museum, Cité du Volcan, in Bourg Murat (museesreunion.re; entry à9.

7 Hike the cirques, with or without a guide. Guides’ daily rates vary, but you should expect to pay between à45 and à60 per person (in a group of three to four). Alexis Vincent can be contacted via

ayapana-reunion.com.

8 Drive the N2 or “Route du Volcan“, through enormous fields of recent lava. The coulée (or flow) from the 2007 eruption is almost 1.6km wide.

9 Take a whale-watching cruise from Saint-Gilles (grandbleu.re; à30 per person).

10 In Saint-Denis, eat at the trendy Vapiano restaurant, housed in some stylishly converted Victorian barracks. ● L S. © The Daily Telegraph