Print by L. A. Roussin, 1847.

The road to Cilaos was improved in the second half of the 19^th century, reducing travel times for spa tourists previously unwilling to make the three-day journey from Saint-Denis. The first plans of the village were made between 1836 and 1854; the spa resort was little more than a collection of straw and wooden huts inhabited by the Petits-Blancs.