Little Black River Peak -- “Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire”
Little Black River Peak hike is a nice Sunday activity. The starting point is marked with a big stone directly on the road so it’s easy to find it. The path is very clear and easy to follow as well, so you don’t need a guide. However, one thing to pay attention to is choosing the right weather conditions to go. When I went it was the beginning of November and the route was dry, which makes the hike easier and safer. So don’t go there during the rainy season, you might regret it big time.
At the starting point, there is not much space for parking a vehicle. So we parked our car at the Gorges Viewpoint, which is a nice little stop to visit when you are travelling in Mauritius anyway. You can take a short walk to the Gorges Viewpoint and start your hike after. Here is a video of the view from the Gorges.
From the Gorges to the starting point of the hike, the only option is to walk a short distance on the road. Gorges Viewpoint’s altitude is about 680 meter already. Therefore, the overall elevation gain is very limited. The route to reach the peak is around 3,5 km. So this is not a long journey. The path is mostly shaded since you walk in the forest. Once you start the hike, the first 2 km is mostly descending. The path is never too steep until the last 700 meters. There is no view until you reach the Piton Saint-Denis point, which sure is a nice photo spot. As I mentioned earlier, I did this hike when the path was dry, and I can say that this is an easy hike until the last climbing part.
The last steep part is provided with a rope for visitors. We went to this hike as a group that included kids at the age of 7 and 10. And it was still okay in terms of safety. It gets a bit slippery but that’s the reason there is a rope to hold on to. For people with acrophobia, it can be very stressful. With proper hiking shoes and concentration, this path is all right.
Just before the final climb, the view is already amazing!
Once you reached the top, the 360-degree view is incredible. There're a broken bench and no shade! We were lucky that there was no-one else when we were there since we were already a group of 7. So we could have this peak for ourselves and it was quite nice to have a short lunch break enjoying the view.
Reaching 828 meters, the highest point in Mauritius is indeed just a day hike. If you take your time you could spend a good 2 hours for this 7 km day-hike on a beautiful sunny day.
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