Introducing Black River Gorges National Park
Mauritius’ sole national park is a spectacularly wild expanse of thick forest covering 3.5% of the island’s surface and home to over 300 species of flowering plants and nine species of bird unique to Mauritius, including the famous pink pigeon which is staging a very gradual comeback from the brink of extinction.
It’s possible to drive or take a bus through the park and stop for great views along the way, but the best way to see the park is of course on foot. A network of hiking trails crisscross the wild and empty Black River Gorges National Park. While the markings have improved in recent years and there are good maps available, you should check the route and the current state of the trails at the information centres before setting off. Alternatively, you may want to hire a guide, which can be done via the visitors centre.
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Visible from much of southern Mauritius, Le Morne Brabant (556m) is the stunning, vast rock from which this beautiful peninsula takes its name. The peninsula itself has some of the country’s best beaches along its 4km shores and is home to a number of upmarket hotels. Almost totally uninhabited by locals, the peninsula nevertheless has a particular resonance in Mauritian culture – it was apparently to here that a group of escaped slaves fled in the early 19th century, hiding out on top of the mountain to remain free. The story has it that the slaves, ignorant of the fact that slavery had been abolished subsequent to their escape, panicked when they saw a troop of soldiers making their way up the cliffs one day. Believing they were to be recaptured, the slaves flung themselves from the cliff tops to their deaths in huge numbers, which explains the origin of the name Le Morne (Mournful One). Although there are no historical records to substantiate the story, it’s an important one for Mauritians as a reminder of the island’s brutal history.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mauritius/west-mauritius/le-morne-peninsula
