Mauritius - Black River Gorges

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Access to the Black River Gorges National Park from Curepipe and Vacoas is via La Marie. There is a memorial here to the hapless English adventurer Matthew Flinders who, having helped explore and map Australia, stopped off in Mauritius in 1803, unaware that the British and French were at war. He was arrested by the French and imprisoned on Mauritius for six years.

Along the road (B3) to the national park are two important bodies of water. The reservoir of Mare aux Vacoas is the largest in Mauritius, a mountain lake at 600m above sea level, surrounded by pine forest and traveller’s palms. Unlike many of the reservoirs it can be visited by road and is a popular spot for local fishermen. Further on through the forest, where deer abound, there is a motorable track leading to Mare Longue, another reservoir. The track passes through the shorn terrain of tea plantations and through woods where monkeys leap excitedly out of the way of the occasional car. It is possible to hike from the main road on forest trails to reach the seven cascades of Tamarind Falls. This is a restricted area so permission is required from the Forestry Department in Curepipe.

The main road continues southwards, passing into the Black River Gorges National Park, and reaches a crossroad at Le Pétrin. This is on the eastern edge of the park and there is a visitors’ information centre here with picnic facilities.

Black River Gorges is the largest national park in Mauritius (6,574ha) and protects the remaining native forests on the island. It is home to many of the rare endemic plants and birdlife, and offers spectacular natural scenery and excellent walks. However, some areas where conservation projects are in progress are off-limits to visitors. These areas are clearly marked. (For detailed information, including a map of the national park, see Chapter 1, Black River Gorges National Park, pages 12–14.)

At Le Pétrin, the turning to the east leads to Grand Bassin, a natural lake in the crater of an extinct volcano at 702m above sea level. It is regarded as sacred by Hindus, who come here regularly to leave offerings of fruit and incense on small pedestals on the lake’s edge. Japanese macaque monkeys and birds watch carefully from a distance, before raiding the fruit left for the gods. The lake is also known as Ganga Talao (Lake of the Ganges) as the Hindus believe that it is linked to the Ganges by an underground stream. There are temples around the lake, containing ornate statues of gods.

Sadly, Grand Bassin now features on the itineraries of all tour operators and coaches of tourists tend to arrive from late morning and throughout the afternoon. Scores of tourists line up for a Hindu blessing, each returning to the coach proudly sporting a token tika (red dot) on their forehead. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to visit. Shoes should be removed before entering any of the temples.

During the festival of Maha Shivaratree, in honour of the god Shiva, is when Grand Bassin really comes into its own. For several days during February/March hundreds of thousands of Hindus make the journey to the lake, where they leave offerings for Shiva and take holy water from the lake to purify their bodies. Traditionalists make the pilgrimage following an all-night vigil, dressed in white and carrying the kanwar, a highly decorated wooden structure which they make themselves. Nowadays it is not unusual to see families making the journey by car but the number of pilgrims on foot lining the roads is still an incredible sight.

The nearby Kanaka Crater can only be reached by hiking along a trail off the road that goes beyond Grand Bassin towards Bois Chéri. This is the entrance to tea-growing country, with hills up to 500m above sea level covered with the close-cropped bushes. This area is covered in Chapter 7, Southern Mauritius.

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