Cirque de Salazie

Salazie is the wettest of the three cirques and the easiest to reach by road, opening east towards the windward coast so that the rain comes straight in, which is why the walls are green to the top and run with waterfalls after rain. Hell-Bourg, a former spa village, sits in the middle of it, and the chouchou, a climbing squash, is grown on frames along the roads. It is part of the UNESCO property covering the island's cirques and remparts.

What you actually see

• The waterfalls - hundreds of falls running down the cirque walls after rain.
• Hell-Bourg - the former spa village at the heart of the cirque.
• The chouchou frames - the climbing squash grown on trellises along the roads.
• The green walls - the vegetation covering the remparts, unlike drier Cilaos.

When to go

May to November is the drier season. The waterfalls are strongest during and after rain, which is most of the rest of the year. Cyclone season from December to March brings road closures.

Honest expectations

It rains a great deal and cloud sits in the cirque for much of many days. Roads are narrow and landslips close them regularly. The waterfalls that make it famous are absent in a dry spell.

Nearby

Hell-Bourg is inside the cirque, and Voile de la Mariee is on the road in.