Mauritius Black River Gorges Route
Le Morne to Curepipe
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Why this ride
Out of Petite Case Noyale, one way: 74 km, roughly 1 h 16 in the saddle. It goes by way of Chamarel, Black River Gorges and Grand Bassin. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Roadbook
- Le Morne
start
Le Morne is the dramatic southwest corner of Mauritius, a basalt monolith rising 556 metres from the sea at the end of a narrow peninsula. The mountain has a heavy history: in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, escaped slaves, known as maroons, hid in the caves and on the summit plateau, and according to tradition, when soldiers came to tell them that slavery had been abolished in 1835, they misunderstood and jumped from the cliffs. Whether or not the story is exact, the mountain became a symbol of resistance and freedom, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Small villages lie nearby, such as Petite Case Noyale and Grande Rivière Noire.
The landscape around the mountain is a mix of lagoon and beach on one side, with kitesurfers drawn to the strong winds and flat water, and sugar cane and scrub on the other. The lagoon is a pale turquoise, protected by a reef that you can see as a line of white surf offshore. The roads along the southern coast are narrow and often busy with local traffic, but surfaces are mostly good. Driving is on the left, and local drivers are brisk, with plenty of overtaking.
From Le Morne, the route turns inland toward the Black River Gorges National Park, climbing into the forested highlands. The change is noticeable: the air cools, the vegetation becomes dense, and the road narrows and bends through tropical forest with views toward the coast. The park protects some of the last remnants of native forest on the island, and rare birds such as the pink pigeon and the Mauritius kestrel, which were brought back from the brink of extinction.
For practical needs, fuel is available in the larger villages along the coast, but not on the mountain itself, so fill up before heading to the peninsula. There are small cafes and snack stands selling dholl puri, a thin pancake filled with split peas, and gateaux piments, fried chilli cakes. The best time to visit is the drier, cooler months from May to December. Cyclones are possible from January to March, and rain can be heavy.
- Chamarel
scenic
Chamarel is a farming village folded into the hills of south-west Mauritius, and getting there is half the fun. The road climbs from the coast near Case Noyale through sugar cane and then bends upward in tight, short hairpins, with the tarmac sometimes uneven and the verges thick with palms, vanilla and flowering trees. The air gets cooler and wetter as you rise, and you will smell wet earth and woodsmoke before you see the village. It is a gentle, rolling kind of riding, with surprises, with a local bus or a pickup always round the next bend.
The reason people come is the Seven Coloured Earths, a patch of dunes in reds, browns, violets and greens that formed from the weathering of volcanic rock. The colours settle in layers and, as the guides like to say, do not mix even in the rain. A short way off, the Chamarel waterfall drops about a hundred metres into the forest, and you see it from a platform. The site charges an entrance fee, and there are giant tortoises from Aldabra wandering about in an enclosure, which is a good reason on its own to stop. The coffee grown in the surrounding hills has a following, and the village also has a rum distillery that opens to visitors, in case you need a story to tell your friends about the afternoon you tasted rum on a motorbike. Do the tasting after you ride, not before.
The island's history is written in these hills. Maroon communities, escaped slaves, used the mountains of the south-west as refuges during the French and British colonial periods, and Le Morne, the great rock on the coast, is a monument to them. The forest you ride through now was once a wall behind which people disappeared.
For fuel, do not assume anything on the plateau. The pumps are down at the coast and along the main roads, at places like Chemin Grenier and Case Noyale, so fill up before the climb. Rain showers move through any time of day, even in the dry season, and the polished tarmac on the bends gets slippery. Aim to arrive before the tour buses, which usually reach the earths late morning.
- Black River Gorges viewpoint
scenic
The Black River Gorges are the green heart of Mauritius, a national park of upland forest, rivers and waterfalls that covers a large block of the south-west. The viewpoint on the road along the edge of the plateau gives you the best sense of it, because from here the land drops away in a long wooded slope all the way to the Indian Ocean, and on a clear morning you can pick out the sea on the horizon and the pale line of surf around the reef. When clouds sit low on the plateau, which they often do, the view disappears, and the ride turns into a wet, atmospheric tunnel of trees and mist.
This is a good place to think about how fragile the island is. When the Dutch and then the French settled Mauritius, they cleared enormous areas for cane and brought in deer, pigs and macaque monkeys, and the native forest shrank to a few remnants. A good deal of what remains is here. Conservationists have spent decades pulling a few endemic birds back from the brink, the Mauritius kestrel, the pink pigeon and the echo parakeet among them, and the gorges are one of the places you have the chance of seeing them. You are more likely to see monkeys by the road, and it is sensible not to feed them.
The road across the plateau is a quiet, winding one, climbing through tea and forest and bordered by tall, damp tree ferns. The surface is generally fine but the weather can turn it greasy, and in places there are potholes that arrive without warning. Traffic is thin on weekdays and heavier on Sundays, when families head for the lakes and picnics. The temperature can be ten degrees cooler than the coast, so bring a jacket you will be glad of.
Fuel and food are in the lowland towns, Chemin Grenier being the closest large one, so top up before you start across. There are small stalls and a few modest restaurants near the viewpoints, but do not count on them being open. Carry water, wear rain gear, and give yourself time to walk to one of the lookouts, because the sound of the forest is a part of the place.
- Grand Bassin
scenic
Grand Bassin sits in the crater of an extinct volcano, high on the central plateau of Mauritius, and it is the holiest place on the island for Hindus. The lake has a quiet, dark look, and around it stand temples, shrines and, towering above the shore, a huge statue of Shiva that was put up in the 2000s. Close by is another statue of the goddess Durga. The place is also called Ganga Talao, and the story goes that in the early 1970s a priest dreamed that the lake was linked with the sacred Ganges, and water carried from India was poured into it. Since then pilgrims have come in numbers, above all at Maha Shivaratri in February or March, when many walk from all over the island in white, carrying decorated wooden frames on their shoulders.
For a rider, the road up from the lowlands is a pleasure. The tarmac twists through sugar cane, then through forest and small villages, with the air getting cooler as you gain height. Nothing is steep for long, but the bends are many and the surface changes from smooth to patched. The area around the lake gets busy at weekends and during festivals, when the road fills with pilgrims on foot, and the parking by the temple can be tight for a motorcycle. Be patient and careful around the walkers.
Dress as you would for a temple: shoulders and knees covered if you go in, shoes off at the temple doors. Visitors are welcome, and the atmosphere is calm, scented with incense and flowers, and punctuated by the cries of the macaques that have claimed the place as theirs. Do not carry food in the open, and do not carry anything you do not want stolen from your hand. The monkeys are quick and fearless.
Grand Bois, five kilometres away, and Chemin Grenier, a bit farther, have pumps and shops. The surrounding hills are part of the Black River Gorges area, and the damp forest is home to endemic plants and a few rare birds. Come in the morning, when the mist hangs on the water and the light is soft, and you will understand why people walk for a day to reach it.
- Curepipe
finish
Curepipe is the highest of the big towns on Mauritius, at about 550 metres on the central plateau, and it has a climate to match. It is cooler and wetter than the coast, often misty, with drizzle that locals take for granted, and the town has a slightly faded, colonial air, with old wooden houses, verandas and tall trees. The name possibly comes from soldiers cleaning their pipes here on the march. Curepipe has about eighty-four thousand people and runs into Vacoas and Midlands, so services are plentiful, and the end of the Black River Gorges route is a comfortable finish.
The town is known for its crater lake, Trou aux Cerfs, an extinct volcano whose rim offers a wide view over the plateau and the sea on a clear day. It is also the home of the Mauritius Glass Gallery and a famous model ship factory, where intricate replicas of historic vessels are built by hand. The Botanical Garden at Pamplemousses is elsewhere on the island, but near here you can visit Grand Bassin, a sacred crater lake for Hindus, where pilgrims gather for Maha Shivaratri. A huge statue of Shiva stands nearby.
The road in from the gorges passes through tea plantations and forests of cryptomeria, and the heights above are some of the greenest in the country. Corners are frequent, the surface is mostly good with some patches, and rain makes the road slick. Fog can reduce visibility sharply, so lights on and cautious speeds are wise. Traffic builds quickly at the approach to the town, especially at rush hour, when buses, vans and cars fill every lane.
In Curepipe, you can find fuel, banks and restaurants with Creole, Indian and Chinese food, which reflect the island's mix of cultures. Try the local street snacks, like fried noodles and samosas, and drink the sweet vanilla tea from the island. The best time to visit is the dry season, from May to November, when skies are clearer, but even then, you should expect a shower. A hot drink on a damp afternoon is the correct way to finish.