Coulée de lave 2007 : les tunnels autorisés à la visite

EDIT du 11 juillet 2024 : La préfecture a autorisé l’accès au tunnel de lave 2007. Vous pouvez maintenant réserver votre visite avec Profundo !

L'Eruption of Piton de la Fournaise in 2007The people of Réunion remember (and will remember for a long time). That year, Réunion Island, and more specifically the village of Le Tremblet, saw huge landslides flow all the way to the Indian Ocean, causing the evacuation of the inhabitants and the cutting off of the RN2. Beneath this new soil formed by the flow, lie hidden numerous lava tunnelswhich should soon be open to visitors...

The 2007 lava flow: impressive volumes and speed

On 2 April 2007, after 46 hours of seismic signals, Piton de la Fournaise erupted. Cracks opened up in the Grand Brulé, on the Tremblet rampart, which has since been renamed the Piton Tremblet. The 2007 eruption and its lava flows lasted around 1 month, until the following 1st May. This is the largest eruption of the century.

Piton de la Fournaise is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupting on average every 9 months. But the eruptions of 2007 and the lava flows caused are exceptional in many respects :

- The altitude of the crack was relatively low: around 650 metres.

- This led to the creation of two lava flow arms with a very high flow rate: 100 m3/s

- Reaching a length of nearly 1.5 km, the flows crossed the RN2 and reached the Indian Ocean less than 12 hours after the eruption began.

- The hamlet of Le Tremblet had to be evacuated

- The total volume of lava flowed was very high: almost 120 million m35.

- Projections of almost 100m were observed

As a result of this volcanic activity, the magma chamber of the Dolomieu collapsed, causing the creation of a crater 350m deep, the Dolomieu crater that we can now see. A new caldera appeared on Réunion, with an impressive diameter of 900m.

Consequences of the 2007 flood in Réunion

The volcanic eruption and its lava flow the beach to the north of Pointe du Tremblet, known as the Le Tremblet beach. This is the world's newest beach! The spectacular flow also led to the discovery of new species of fish, which had died from the heat of the ocean and returned to the surface. The RN2 road was rebuilt over the lava flow. In places, the new road is some sixty metres above the old road. It took 7 months of studies and work to achieve the feat of rebuilding the road on top of the lava (which is still steaming).

The RN2 road was rebuilt on top of the lava flow. In places, the new road is some sixty metres above the old road. It took 7 months of studies and work to meet the challenge of rebuilding the road over lava (still smoking).

Visits to the lava tunnels of the 2007 flow: too high a risk for over 15 years

The lava emitted by Piton de la Fournaise has reached temperatures up to 1200°C. Quelques années après, dans les tunnels créés par la lave, la température y était toujours de 200°C. L’épaisseur de la coulée 2007, atteignant par endroits environ 100m, cause un processus de refroidissement plus long qu’une autre coulée, moins épaisse.

Because of the heat and the risk of collapse caused by the cooling lava, l’accès à la coulée a été interdit pendant 17 ans.

Jusqu’à juillet 2024, il n’était pas autorisé de marcher sur la coulée de lave ou de visiter les nombreux tunnels de lave créés. Pour appreciate and imagine the scale of the 2007 flow, une solution était de monter au belvederenear the Route des Laves (part of the RN2 between Sainte-Rose and Saint-Philippe).

2024 : l’année de l’autorisation préfectorale pour la visite des tunnels de lave 2007

A report commissioned in December 2023 by the Prefect of Réunion identified 15 recommendations for volcanic tourism in Réunion. These recommendations includedauthorisation to access the 2007 lava flow and tunnelswith the exception of the Tremblet well.

La préfecture de la région a autorisé officiellement l’accès au tunnel de lave 2007, le 11 juillet 2024. Depuis, nous proposons des visites accompagnées de la coulée 2007, en toute sécurité.