The hike to the top of Le Morne Brabant in Mauritius is a fantastic experience. It takes a lot of perseverance, but when you look out over the beautiful blue bay and, with a lot of luck, see the underwater waterfall further on, the sweat and toil will have been completely worth it. Read everything you need to know about the hike to the top of Mount Le Morne Brabant in Mauritius below.
Content of this blog:
How to get to Le Morne Brabant in Mauritius?
To get to the mountain you need to navigate to the starting point Le Morne Brabant Hiking (open in Google Maps). Here you can park your scooter or car and register at the entrance. You do not have to pay an entrance fee to hike the mountain.
Le Morne Brabant is located all the way in the southwest of Mauritius. From Flic en Flac it is just under an hour’s drive to the starting point. From Grand Baie in northern Mauritius, it is a 2-hour drive.
Is a guide required?
No, it is not mandatory to take a guide when hiking Le Morne Brabant. If you have little experience with hikes where you have to ascend considerably and literally climb on your hands and feet, it is wise to hire a guide. A guide can also make the hike more enjoyable and less strenuous. Guide Kevin, who you can book through this link, makes the hike a lot more enjoyable, fun and interesting. He tells lots of facts and trivia you didn’t already know about Mauritius and its flora and fauna. It is also incredibly helpful to do the climb with him because he knows exactly where to put your feet down at certain points in order to get to the top (and especially down again) in one piece.
Is the hike to Le Morne Brabant tough?
Yes, the hike to Le Morne is definitely tough. After all, you have to hike 556 meters, over rocks and uneven paths. In addition, Mauritius also has high humidity so it quickly feels hot and you are sweating tremendously. Below we share a way you can also hike the mountain and enjoy the beautiful view, but with a slightly less strenuous hike.
Viewpoint 1 and viewpoint 2 at Le Morne Brabant
There are two different viewpoints on the mountain of Le Morne Brabant. Viewpoint 1 is halfway up the mountain. This requires you to hike for about an hour, over fairly good trails, to get to the viewpoint.
If you are not very fit or if you find it too exciting to climb and scramble over the rocks, you can choose to walk up to this first viewpoint and then go back. You can be extremely proud of yourself because this is not nothing!
From viewpoint 1 to viewpoint 2 is the tough part. As you can see from the pictures below, it is really climbing and scrambling, over rocks, narrow sections and steep precipices. We didn’t really enjoy it anymore at one point (Noëlle especially with her fear of heights). We also saw plenty of people turn around who saw this and decided they didn’t want to do this. So really trust your gut and don’t do anything you don’t support.
How long is the hike from Le Morne Brabant?
If you climb Le Morne Brabant to the top, i.e. viewpoint 2, it will take you about 2 hours including stops. In total you should take about 4 hours for this. Going down in this case is certainly not always faster than going up because of the rocks and sliding on your buttocks on certain parts.
Packing list: what to bring on the hike anyway
Keep the packing list below for the hike to Le Morne Brabant so that you have enough with you to complete the hike properly and enjoy yourself at the same time.
- Good hiking boots. You can’t hike the mountain on flip-flops or sandals. You really need dense shoes with good grip. Sneakers or running shoes is okay, as long as you have enough tread on the bottom of your shoe with grip.
- 2 liters of water per person. Because of the humidity and the heavy climbing you will sweat like crazy. Replenish this in time with sufficient water so that this does not bother you.
- Some snacks, breakfast or lunch. Bring some high-energy food like fruit, energy bars or some nice fresh baguette / croissant.
- Camera
- Sunburn. You only walk in the sun, there is no shade anywhere. So keep applying a good amount of sunscreen every hour. Especially when you sweat so much, sunscreen doesn’t always stay on your skin very well.
- Cap and sunglasses against the sun.
- Put on airy, breathable clothing that is allowed to get dirty.
Tip: Start the hike to Le Morne Brabant early.
So because it is so hot and you are constantly walking in the sun, it is advisable to start the hike to Le Morne Brabant early. 07:00 start is ideal. Are you going with a guide? Then you can start even earlier and watch part of the sunrise if you book with this guide.
Relax on the beautiful beach at Le Morne after the hike
Finally, the best advice we can give: after the hike, enjoy the peace and quiet on the beautiful beach at Le Morne. This is one of the most beautiful beaches in Mauritius where you can take a well-deserved, refreshing dip in the sea after the hot hike.
Drive to Emba Filao Restaurant, where you can have a nice meal and a cold drink. After this you can walk to the left, where you can lie on the beautiful beach of the LUX resort. On this stretch of beach there are beautiful palm trees and it is just a bit more paradisiacal than on the right side with the pine trees. You can just lie on the beach in front of the LUX resort, which is a public beach.
You can just leave your swimsuit and towel in your car or buddy in your scooter when you hike the mountain. Then you don’t have to carry unnecessary weight, but you can go straight to the beach afterwards.
Can you hike Le Morne Brabant even if it has rained?
No, if it has rained, or is raining, we absolutely do not recommend hiking Le Morne Brabant. Even if it drizzles just a tiny bit. The path and the rocks become too slippery and the risk of a serious accident increases. Choose for your own safety and hike Le Morne Brabant only when it is dry.
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