Black River Gorges National Parks

History

The Black River Gorges National Park Project was proclaimed on the 15th of June 1994 by the President of the Republic of Mauritius. It is found in the South West of the island, and covers an area of 6,574 hectares of forests including the highest point at Piton de la Rivière Noire (828 m). The Park is managed mainly for the conservation of endemic flora and fauna, dissemination of and creation of public awareness, education and the provision of leisure to both local and foreign visitors.

There are different microclimates in the park. Hiking from the eastern side of the park to the west, you will be moving from a damp rainy upland forest to a drier lowland forest. The annual rainfall varying from 1000 mm in drier areas to 4000 mm on the uplands, determines the type of vegetation in different regions. The mean temperature varies from 21 °C (upland) to 27 °C (lowland) during summer months and from 17 °C (upland) to 21 °C (lowland) during the winter period

Facilities at Black River Gorges National Park

Hiking Trails in Black River Gorges National Park

Trails lead to all parts of the park, from the shady path up the Black River Gorges, to the often cloud-shrouded ridge walk to the Black River Peak. Some 60 km of trails are there for you to enjoy the panorama and to be closer to the plants and animals of the park. The routes listed below and marked on the map are some of the more popular ones:

TRAIL	PATHWAY	LENGTH	TRAIL TYPE
MACHABEE FOREST LOOP	Pétrin-Machabée-Pétrin	14 km Return	Moderate
MACHABEE TRAIL	Pétrin-Black River Lower Gorges	10 km	Strenuous
MARE LONGUE LOOP	Pétrin-Mare Longue-Pétrin	12km Return	Moderate
PARAKEET TRAIL	Plaine Champagne-Black River Lower Gorges	8 km	Strenuous
BLACK RIVER PEAK TRAIL	Gorette-Black River Peak-Gorette	9 km Return	Moderate
PAILLE en QUEUE TRAIL	Alexandra – Plaine Champagne	3 km	Moderate
SAVANNE TRAIL	Plaine Paul – Piton Savanne – Plaine Paul	6 km Return	Easy
CASCADE des GALLETS TRAIL	Alexandra Falls – Cascade des Gallets – Alexandra Falls	3 km Return	Strenuous

National Parks and Conservation Service

Black River Gorges National Parks // <![CDATA[ _spBodyOnLoadFunctionNames.push("setupPageDescriptionCallout"); // ]]>