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Considered by some to be the most beautiful region, the south coast and southwest interior are certainly rugged and dramatic. This undevelopd area is said to be reminiscent of what the island used to look like before tourism took off. As one travels west, the inland terrain is transformed from green cane fields to mountainous scenery, cluminating in the Savanne Mountains and Plaine Champagne of the southwest.
There are several gaps in the reef along the south coast, and from Souillac to just past Le Souffleur the reef and the calm lagoons commonly found on the other coastlines are absent altogether. There are fewer safe bathing beaches, but the sight of powerful waves close by makes for a refreshing change, while onshore winds provide a measure of relief from the oppressive heat sometimes experienced elsewhere on the island.
The savannah grasslands that existed here until the 18th century gave way to the cultivation of sugar cane, and the road near the coast zigzags through the can fields, crossing numerous rivers and streams and giving the occasional glimpse of sea in the distance.
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