Photo album: "Piton de la Fournaise"

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On Tuesday, March 25, 1975, until I leave La Réunion scheduled for the next day, I make a trip with several of my comrades on the Piton de la Fournaise, active volcano (2631 m). We leave the Marion Dufresne, where we are still staying, around 5 am to take advantage of the best weather conditions, because the sky becomes usually cloudy in the afternoon. We have rented several cars. We head south through the National Highway Nr1 along the coast to Saint Pierre, where we take the national highway Nr 3 which crosses the island. Once on the plateau we proceed on the road to the volcano.

On the road to the volcano.

Crossing the Plain of Ashes.

We left our cars in the car park and follow the marked trail that leads to the Pas de Bellecombe (2311 m) at the edge of the Great Depression of the Enclos Fouqué. We are now going down the winding path that permits to reach the foot of the cliff.

We are now in the Enclos Fouqué and head to the Piton de la Fournaise which we can see in the distance. We follow the white signs that mark the trail and we approach a small cinder cone named Formica Leo.