Route des Laves

The southeastern coast road crosses the Grand Brûlé, the open flank down which Piton de la Fournaise sends its lava to the sea, and the tarmac has been cut and rebuilt repeatedly as flows have come across it. Dates are marked at the edge of each flow, so the drive passes 1977, 1986, 2004, 2007 and later eruptions in sequence, from bare black rock to older flows already being colonised by ferns and pioneer plants.

What you actually see

• The dated flows - markers at each lava field showing the year it came down.
• The bare rock - recent flows still black and unvegetated.
• The colonisation - older flows being taken back by ferns and pioneer species.
• The sea entry points - where lava reached the coast and built new land.

When to go

Year round; the road is open except during eruptions reaching the coast, when it closes. Mornings are clearest. Eruptions draw very large crowds to the area.

Honest expectations

The road closes without notice when an eruption threatens it. Walking on the flows is on sharp lava that destroys footwear and cuts badly on a fall. There is no shade anywhere on the Grand Brule.

Nearby

Notre-Dame-des-Laves is north, and Anse des Cascades is beyond it.