Black River Gorges National Park

The Black River Gorges National Park was set up in 1994. It was established to ensure the precious but dwindling natural resources of Mauritius were protected and that the endangered birds would have a safe home.

The park is approximately 6754 hectares and covers around 3% of the island! There are over 300 species of native plants and you will find the Mauritius Kestrel and the Pink Pigeon here along with a multitude of other bird species.

Because the park is so big, you will find that there are different climates in the park. The east side of the park is a damp rainy forest and the west is a drier forest. The rainfall varies from 1000mm in the drier west side to up to 4000mm on the wetter east side.

The temperature can also vary by up to 5 degrees!!

There are four main entrances to the Black River Gorges National Park:

- From Curepipe/Vacoas or Grand Bassin

- From Trois Bras along Black River Royal Road

- From Case Noyal through Chamarel

- From Chemin Grenier via Bassin Blanc through Les Mares

If you are driving from Curepipe you will enjoy fantastic views of the park as you drive toward it. You will also arrive at the Petrin Visitor Center.

The entrance from Black River Royal Road will lead you to the main Visitor Center which also has a really nice picnic area. Although if you are wanting something a little more adventurous (and without those pesky tourists) you can take your food and a blanket with you on one of the trails and pick a nice spot along the way.

Both visitor centers are staffed by experienced staff and have displays showing pictures, maps and trials. You can purchase - very cheaply - a map map of the park with the main trails marked on it. The staff are happy to tell you about the conditions on the trails, explain the map and are also willing to answer as many questions as you can come up with!!

The Petrin visitor center is open on weekdays from 8am to 3.15pm on weekdays, but only 8.00am to 11.00am on Saturdays. The main visitor center is open from 9.00am to 3.00pm every day, although I’m not sure about holidays such as Christmas.

You will need to make sure that bring a couple of things with you:

- Runners. It isn’t necessary to wear hiking boots on the main trails, but it wouldn’t be practical to wear sandals either.

- Sunscreen, hat and water.

- Either a light raincoat or an umbrella. It’s a tropical island….chances are it will rain while you are in the park!

- Mosquito repellant. They can be really annoying. I can’t emphasize that enough! If you are the type that seems to attract every mosquito in a 5km radius (like myself), I highly recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt instead of a t-shirt or singlet top.

The Trails

There are over 60kms of trails in the park. Some of the trails go in a loop but others are just one way, so when you get to the end you have to turn around and retrace your steps.

The most common trails are:

- The Macchabee Forest trail. This is a 14km loop hike from the Petrin visitor center and is graded moderate.

- The Macchabee Trail. This is a 10km one way from the Petrin visitor center. You can choose between a strenuous grade or a moderate grade.

- The Mare Longue Loop. This is a 12km loop from Petrin visitor center and is graded moderate. It goes from the visitor center to a reservoir through a native dwarf forest.

- The Parakeet Trail. This is an 8km one way from the main visitor center to Plaine Champagne. It is a steep trail, so if you are unfit I definitely wouldn’t recommend this one!

- The Black River Peak Trail. This is a 9km loop trail which goes to the highest peak in Mauritius. Sounds difficult doesn’t it. Apart from the last couple of hundred meters it is actually quite gentle! The starting point for this one is neither of the visitor centers but is about 500m from the Black River Gorges Viewpoint out on the main road toward Chamarel.

- The Paille en queue Trail. This is a 3km one way hike from Alanexandra Road to Plaine Champagne Road and is graded moderate.

- The Savanne Trail. This is a 6km hink from the end of Les Mares Road and is graded easy. It has the most fantastic views toward the south of the island.

- The Bel Ombre Trail. This is an 18km return hike from Plaine Champagne to the Park boundary. It is graded moderate.

- The Cascade des Galets Trail. This is a 3km return hike that is graded strenuous but is definitely worth the effort. You get to hike down a waterfall!!

But we found it more enjoyable to just wander off on a trail and see where it took us. The more popular trails have more people on them and the more people, the less wildlife. So if you are hoping to catch a glimpse of a Pink Pigeon try to avoid the crowds.