Since the century's eruption of the Piton de la Fournaise in April 2007, the road between Saint-Philippe and Sainte-Rose was blocked.  One has to wait for seven months to see the Route des laves born, a road of 1,6 km in the middle of the flow.  Go off to explore.   

It is there.  Like a crawling snake in the middle of the basaltic rock.  The outline of the road is crooked and depicts all the trouble of the roadwork in trying to repair what the Piton de la Fournaise has buried beneath its flow.  Over a month of continuous lava flow, from April to the end of May 2007.  The 140 000 million cubic metres poured out by the igneous mouths destroyed everything.  From palm trees to palm kernels to banana trees to vanilla plants and to bougainvilleas...  Everything was burnt.           

Whether one looks from Tremblet or from Grand Brulé, the boundary lines are sharp and precise: between two verdant landscapes where the vegetation is luxuriant, a prominent black spot is outlined.  It starts a little higher on the mountain already plunged beneath the sky to fade off in the ocean.  White, green, black and blue.  And a river flows in the middle.  The Route des laves is born.  The landscape is original.      

Two viewpoints

So, we were getting closer to the massif rocks.  We were right to ask whether the flow is still not alive so much that it was hot.  Plumes of smoke still emit from the rock.   

7 months and over 1, 5 million Euros were needed to dig the place.  The agents from the DDE (Direction Départemental de l'Equipement) helped by the "Institut de Physique du globe de Paris" (IPGP) have come across huge difficulties.  Under their foot, there is a mille-feuille with basaltic layers.  Rocky.  Everywhere, tunnels were scattered over and cavities of 12 metres high and 20 m width can be measured.      

Considering the instability of the lava and to prevent all associated risk, the DDE , ONF and the prefecture have developed two viewpoints in order to guide the visitors.  The first one at Tremblet enables the tourists to admire the entrance of the lava tunnel.  Be careful.  You should absolutely wear a tennis shoes.     

A panoramic viewpoint has been set up further, near Grand Brûlé.  A 360° panorama showing a whole view over the flow of the mountains' peak in the ocean.  An essential site.  For the time being, these developments are temporary until the basic roadwork along the Route des laves a true open-air volcano museum, is over.                 

Text and photos : Véronique Tournier
December 2007