Outside France there're probably few people who have ever heard of "La Reunion". It is a "departments autre mer" (oversea province) still kept under French authority from the colonial era. The tropical island stands in a row with Tahiti, New Caledonia, Martinique - smart people, our French friends, aren't they ? It is a home far away from home so you can enjoy all the pleasures of the western culture, French style naturally, so you can even have your Baguette. Similar to the other French colonies this is all mixed with an exciting local Creolian flavor. Anyway, the reason why Reunion is mentioned here is because it is an outdoor wonderland specifically for trekking and here it resides easily within my Top 10 list! Similar to Hawaii it is a volcanic island with two major volcanoes - one (active) in the South and the bigger one, the "Piton de Neige" in the center of the Island. Erosion has taken its heavy toll from the latter resulting in three "cirques", immense eroded basins which are flanked by extremely steep volcanic walls - all towered by the 3070m volcano . Fortunately for us these cirques are interconnected by a trail system and you can find your bed in mountain huts or small villages. The trail standard is very high but because of the rather crazy ups and downs in the cirques you better have some decent fitness - otherwise you will suffer a lot here.