The beautiful south-west of Mauritius

When winter season starts taking over the weather in Europe and temperatures falling below freezing point, many European sun seekers tend to escape the cold days and fly to the south. For many years already, the island of Mauritius is very popular for winter holidays, since local summer season starts in November and lasts until April.

Mauritius is well known for its beautiful nature, a long tradition in sugar cane cultivation and its amazing luxury resorts. You can easily spend hundreds of Euros for package deals residing in super fancy hotels, but it is way more fun to explore the island individually on your own. With this little travel story, I would like to sum up our 4-day short trip to the south-west of the island.

Travel individually!

Planning your Mauritius trip by yourself will not only save a huge amount of money, it will also give you the chance to do exactly what you want and create your own schedule, which is very important when you only have a very limited time. Most European leisure airlines are flying in winter non-stop to MRU (Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport), otherwise you can easily reach Mauritius with one stop e.g. via DXB. Rental cars can easily be reserved ahead, and I really can recommend the local companies. Service is good and prices are way cheaper than with the big chains (we got a small SUV for approx. 30 Euro/day). An inexpensive alternative to the luxury resorts are the many AirBnBs and guesthouses around the island. They are scattered in every neighborhood and offer sometimes even own swimming pools. Our apartment was in La Gaulette, offered enough space for 4-5 persons and we got it for around 100 Euro/night.

Places to visit in the south-west

As you travel with your own rental car, you can decide about where and when you want to be! Here is a summary of my three personal favourite places in the SW region.

The Peak of Le Morne Brabant

Being one of the most iconic sites in Mauritius, hiking up Le Morne will offer spectacular views of the south-western corner of the island. Parking is possible at the trail head at the south coast of Le Morne peninsula. Hiking up will start with a shallow angle passing through the forest. After approximately 3 km you will reach a very steep exposed area, where you almost need to climb up the rocks for the next 300-400 m. Although there are ropes to assist the ascend, it is highly recommended to bring proper shoes. Unfortunately, you will probably have to wait a bit at this passage, since many tourists block the way only having the sneakers and not being able to move on. All in all, it is about 3.5 km going up, gaining 300 m elevation. You should start very early in the morning since it’s getting very hot during the day. And don’t forget to bring a lot of water. Reaching the peak’s cross, you will be rewarded with amazing views around the whole south-west of Mauritius, including the underwater waterfall. This is the highest point which you can reach there. The top plateau of Le Morne Brabant is still a few metres higher but unfortunately not open to public. Hiking back down is basically the same way, but you can vary some parts of the trail. You should estimate approx. a ½ day for hiking up and down.

Black River Gorges National Park

Located in the island’s south-west, Black River Gorges National Park is the largest national park of Mauritius offering more than 60 km hiking trails, several waterfalls, the highest mountain (Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire, 828 m) and the largest forest area of the island. Very nearby you can find the Geopark of Chamarel (entrance fee ca. 12 Euro/Person), where you can see the seven colored earth, the giant tortoises and the Chamarel waterfalls. While the view to the Chamarel waterfall is quite spectacular, the rest of the geopark is rather less adventurous but easily accessible.

If you pass by at Alexandra falls, you should definitely take the short hike (approx. 1.2 km) down to “Cascade 500 pieds” (photo on the left). You will reach this unique waterfall at the top level on the edge falling about 150 m straight down, offering a great view towards the whole southern coastline. Since the trail towards the waterfall is very rocky and might be slippery, there are almost no tourists there and you can enjoy the complete scenery by yourself.

Le Morne Public Beaches

Just located in between the luxury resorts, you will find several areas of public beaches on the Le Morne peninsula, offering the same beautiful beaches for free. You can even park your car just next to beach in shaded parking areas. These spots are perfect places to relax after a hiking tour during the day and finish with a sun downer drink at the beach. Facing towards the west, amazing sunsets are granted. The scenery is very impressive, having the turquoise tropical water in front and massive Le Morne Brabant mountain in the back.