In the centre of La Réunion, the tiny French island that bobs in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mauritius, there is another sort of island. This one is even more isolated.
Formed when the magna chamber of a major volcano collapsed some three million years ago, the verdant Cirque de Mafate is separated from the rest of the island by sheer cliff walls, impressive mountains and thick tropical forest. The only way in or out of the amphitheatre-shaped valley is by foot – or, in a pinch, by helicopter.
Settlers arrived in the lush volcanic crater in the 18th Century. The first wave consisted of enslaved Africans fleeing their masters. Later came several impoverished French farmers whose plantations had failed after slavery was abolished. For generations, these settlers and their descendants were all but cut off from the outside world.
