A drive of less than fifteen minutes south is all it takes to find yourself in a completely different setting.
L’Étang-Salé is the island’s most spectacular black-sand beach, formed from volcanic rock eroded by the ocean over millennia. The contrast is striking: dark basalt, deep green casuarina trees, white foam. It’s the favourite weekend beach for families from Réunion, with its picnic areas under the trees and its village-like atmosphere. Swimming is only permitted in the Bassin Pirogue lagoon or in the supervised area of the beach; elsewhere, the waves and currents are powerful.
In the late afternoon, the low-angled light on the black sand makes for photos that nobody would believe were taken on the same day as those of Saint-Leu.
