{
  "name": "Route de Cilaos",
  "slug": "route-de-cilaos",
  "url": "https://www.bestdrivingroads.com/roads/route-de-cilaos/",
  "summary": "Réunion's most implausible feat of road engineering: 35 km of switchbacks, around 400 bends and three single-lane tunnels blasted through vertical volcanic cliffs to reach the isolated Cirque de Cilaos, accessible only by trail until 1932.",
  "roadNumbers": [
    "RN5"
  ],
  "location": {
    "country": "France",
    "region": "Réunion",
    "start": {
      "name": "Saint-Louis",
      "lat": -21.285919,
      "lon": 55.420172
    },
    "end": {
      "name": "Cilaos",
      "lat": -21.134961,
      "lon": 55.470732
    }
  },
  "measurements": {
    "lengthMiles": 21.4,
    "lengthKm": 34.4,
    "driveMinutes": 56,
    "corners": 208,
    "hairpins": 31,
    "maxGradientPercent": 17,
    "summitMetres": 1611.2,
    "elevationConfidence": "approximate (30 m DEM cannot resolve this line)",
    "difficulty": "demanding",
    "tightnessOutOf10": 10
  },
  "timing": {
    "bestSeasons": [
      "autumn",
      "winter",
      "spring"
    ]
  },
  "conditions": {},
  "hazards": [
    "Rockfall and landslides from friable volcanic cliffs",
    "No alternate route if closed",
    "Three single-lane unlit tunnels",
    "Vertiginous drops with minimal barriers",
    "Afternoon cloud in the cirque",
    "No fuel between Saint-Louis and Cilaos"
  ],
  "scenery": [
    "mountain",
    "gorge",
    "valley"
  ],
  "pointsOfInterest": [
    "Sentier Bayonne",
    "Coteau Sec"
  ],
  "geometry": {
    "pointCount": 334
  },
  "attribution": {
    "source": "Routes - bestdrivingroads.com",
    "citation": "Cite with a link to the road page. Stats are measured from the mapped line, not copied from other lists; where elevationConfidence is \"approximate\" the 30 m DEM cannot resolve that line and the elevation figures are indicative.",
    "roadGeometry": "(c) OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL",
    "terms": "Facts are free to cite with attribution; bulk reproduction of the catalogue requires permission (simon@keane.studio)."
  },
  "updated": "2026-08-03"
}