Legacy Inspires 14 Page 46

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pLAy

day excursion of it, allowing ample time to
enjoy the scenery.

The town of Cilaos is a great place

to start your hike from. Surrounded by
staggeringly beautiful scenery and lorded
over by the magnificent Piton des Neiges
itself, this sleepy hollow is the largest of the
towns and villages in Réunion's cirques.
Despite a long history of tourism, starting
with its establishment as a spa resort at the
end of the 19th century, the town remains
quintessentially Réunionnaise. Best of all,
you can still enjoy the healing thermal baths
that put Cilaos on the map.

Having completed your hike and enjoyed

a rejuvenating soak in a thermal bath, you'll
be raring to leave on your next adventure
canyoning.

canyonIng

As the name implies, the sport of canyoning
refers to the exploration of a canyon, either
by rappelling, white water rafting or waterfall
jumping. Sound crazy? You'd be surprised
just how fun it can be and how many people
to choose to get their adrenaline fix by
rappelling and jumping from Réunion's
abundant waterfalls.

Canyoning can either be a fun family

outing or an extreme sport for experienced
rock climbers only. Réunion's abundant
canyons run the gamut of all the degrees
of ease or difficulty that canyoners could
possibly ask for. Once again, Cilaos serves
as an excellent base for canyoners and has

a wide variety of operators whose offerings
cater to the needs of novices and experts
alike.

Of course there are good and better

times to go canyoning in Réunion and
most canyoning guides recommend July to
December. The general consensus is that
October is the best month for this activity,
because the water is warm and it's just prior
to the start of the rainy season, which runs
from November through April.

watersports

While canyoning is itself part water sport,
the island of Réunion has an abundance
of other water sports to choose from.
Kayaking and white water rafting are popular
inland activities, while the west coast with
its beautiful beaches is a hub for water
sports that range from surfing to scuba
diving, sailing, deep-sea fishing, jet skiing,
snorkelling and more.

The west coast village of Saint-Gilles-

les-Bains has nearby coral reefs and
is an especially popular destination for
scuba divers and surfers. Other fabulous
attractions in this resort-style town include
a casino, botanical gardens and a sea
aquarium inside the port.

lux* Ile de la réunIon

It's here in vibrant Saint-Gilles that you'll
find the island's only five-star beach resort,
the LUX* Ile de la Réunion. The hotel is
beautifully situated on a stunning beach,

with magnificent views of the coral-sheltered
lagoon at L'Hermitage.

Resort guests can choose to relax and

soak up the sun on a beach chair or delight
in the crystal clear water of the resort's
1100 square-metre pool the largest on the
island. There's also volleyball, tennis and
golf as well as yoga and tai chi to choose
from, or you could simply indulge yourself
with a decadent spa treatment.

When you've worked up an appetite and

the thirst to go with it, the resort has five
restaurants and bars that offer a variety of
Creole-inspired island cuisine to sate even
the most seasoned of palates.

hIstory, people & polItIcs

The uninhabited island of Réunion was
known to early Arab traders as Dina
Morgabin and is believed to be featured on
a map from 1153 AD. The first European
exploration of the area would come later
in 1507 by the Portuguese who called the
island Santa Apolónia. In 1642, the island
was officially claimed by France and in 1649
was named Île Bourbon after the French
royal house, the House of Bourbon.

After the fall of the Bourbons the

island was named Réunion in 1793, then
Île Bonaparte in 1801 after Napoleon
Bonaparte. A Royal Navy invasion of
the island saw the restoration of the
name Bourbon in 1810. When the 1815
Congress of Vienna returned the island to
France, the name Bourbon held fast until