Travel Guide Saint-André

Saint-André, with its 53,000 inhabitants, is best known as the capital of Reunionese Indianity. The entrance to the town on the main road from Saint-Denis is already a colourful sight: a Tamil temple stands in the middle of the four-lane road! Sugar cane is one of the reasons for the importance of the Tamil community. Originally from the south of India, the Malabar coast and Madras, the Indians arrived before the abolition of slavery in 1848, then massively afterwards, as hired workers with fixed-term contracts. Cane cultivation, which was booming, was labour-intensive. Testimonies of their presence, very beautiful Malabar temples, including the Colossus, the most important of them. Who says sugar cane says sugar cane, the Bois-Rouge factory is just a stone's throw away, as well as the rum distillery of Savannah. Visiting such smoking machinery is a real spectacle in itself. Why not also take a quick look at this somewhat surprising town centre where a huge cemetery, a church no less imposing, a town hall, a street with old multi-storey barracks and wrought iron balconies can be found? Look also for the many old colonial residences that line the town, as well as the remains of sugar factories and distilleries, legacies of Saint-André's agricultural vocation. You can also take a walk in the immense Parc du Colosse, not far from the eponymous temple, a vast leisure area where children can let off steam.