With its breath-taking landscapes – forests, waterfalls, hidden villages (the "îlets") – traversed by many hiking trails, the "interior" is where the originality of Reunion really shines. Uncountable ravines in which rivers descend from the mountains, alternating cascades at narrow points and wider calmer sections littered with rocks.  Reunion's pitons, cirques and wild mountain ramparts were included in the Unesco World Heritage List on the 1^st of August 2010.

The coastline has a lot to boast about too, with lovely beaches and rugged cliffs shaped by the ocean and winds. The vegetation of Reunion, which includes many endemic species, varies with the altitude and the climate, ranging from tropical forest to dry savannah to plantations of sugar cane and fruit trees. The forest is home to extraordinary tree ferns and a multitude of colourful birds. Reunion is blessed with a tropical climate and is permanently caressed by trade winds.

Tourism has expanded rapidly in recent years, not least because off the island's pivotal location in the southwest of the Indian Ocean. The island has immense appeal, including the ethnic diversity of its population reflecting a long history of intermixing of different peoples, and its fauna and flora (coconuts, vanilla, mangos and perfumery plants such as vetiver).

Visiting food lovers can discover exotic dishes such as cari-chicken, cari-fish, cari-octopus and cari-crayfish. Cari consists in sealing the meat or fish, reducing some tomatoes and adding spices, garlic and onions, then simmering gently. The tropical fruits of Reunion find a useful role in rum-based drinks: rum-coco, rum-vanilla, rum-pineapple, and many more.