Hiking Le Pouce Mountain is a must do activity while in Mauritius. With its relatively short but reasonably challenging trail, alongside stunning panoramic views, Le Pouce is not to be missed!
This mountain stands out due to its ‘thumb’ shape, hence the name Le Pouce (translating to ‘the thumb’). Thanks to the height from the ‘thumb’, Le Pouce is actually the third highest mountain in Mauritius.
In this post, I’ll give you an insight into this worthwhile hike.
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Let’s start with some questions you may be pondering, then take a closer look at the hike! So…
How to get to the trail-head of Le Pouce?
Le Pouce is located in the Moka district, with the nearest village to the beginning of the trail being Saint-Pierre.
You can also hike Le Pouce beginning from the capital city of Port Louis. In this post, however, I will focus on the trail from the Saint-Pierre direction. This is where the ‘official’ car park for the walk is, and is, I believe, the most popular route option (and the one which I did!).
- From Saint-Pierre, if you head along Bois Cheri Road, just before it turns left at the end, there is a road on the right which is actually called ‘Le Pouce Road’.
- A short drive up Le Pouce Road leads to a free public car park, from where the hike begins. The car park does have a decent amount of space, so you should be able to find a spot!
Getting around Mauritius is most easily done by car – I do recommend to hire a car, whether for some or all of your stay. You will have so much more freedom to explore than if you try to stick to public buses! Rental cars can be picked up from the airport or from various towns on the island including Flic en Flac, Grand Baie, Balaclava.
How high is Le Pouce Mountain?
Le Pouce, at 812m high, is the third highest mountain in Mauritius.
That being said, the hike does not begin from sea-level. Consequently, the elevation gain of the hike is only around half of that. I recorded the elevation gain of hiking Le Pouce as 412m.
How long is Le Pouce hike?
The hike takes around 1-2 hours to complete. This is including stops en route to enjoy the views.
Distance-wise, it is around 4.5km return from the car park near Saint-Pierre.
The walk will be longer if you do choose to begin from Port Louis.
How difficult is hiking Le Pouce?
Le Pouce is a moderately challenging hike.
You definitely don’t need to be an avid or experienced hiker to feel comfortable on this trail. However, there are some steep sections including uneven underfoot. The last section requires hands and feet at a few bits – essentially it’s a short, steep scramble at the end to the summit. Don’t let that scare you, it’s not too difficult and if you do think it is, you can miss out the final climb and still have a great hike and amazing views!
Bringing a sense of adventure, some moderate fitness levels and the knowledge that you’re in for a bit of a challenge will have you ready to tackle this mountain!
Is Le Pouce a popular hiking trail?
Yes, Le Pouce hiking trail is quite a popular one. You therefore can expect to see others out there, but it isn’t overly busy. There were a nice level of people out there hiking on my visit.
While I didn’t do this hike alone, I would have felt comfortable had I been – not super remote, with no one around! So if you are a solo traveller, I would say this is a good hike option (it’s always safer to hike with someone if you can though of course!).
What is the terrain like?
From gravel to big stones to hard-packed mud back to big stones/rocks… this hike may be short in distance but it knows how to mix up the terrain!
With regard to the large stones/rocky trail sections, they can be quite slippery. Consequently, I don’t advise to do this hike following/during heavy rain. There hadn’t been any rain the day I was there, yet the rocks were still slippy and it was quite muddy at bits, too. Most of the hike was absolutely fine though as the terrain changes and the ground that is not covered by trees dries up quickly in the tropical heat!
Are there any amenities on this hike?
There are no bathrooms at the car park or out on the hike. Similary, there are no water stations so do come prepared!! You will need water – this is Mauritius, it can be HOT!
To reinforce that: BRING PLENTY OF WATER (AND SNACKS)!
Best time of year to hike Le Pouce?
Le Pouce is a great year round hike!
I hiked this mountain in the heat of the day of December (summer), and while it was very hot, humid, sweaty, the fact that the hike is short meant it was fine! I probably wouldn’t have wanted to tackle a more challenging, significantly longer hike in this heat but for Le Pouce, it was all good (but sweaty, very sweaty!)!
Of course, if you want more pleasant walking conditions, you would want to head here in the winter months. It will still be hot, but less humid and altogether more comfortable.
Hiking Le Pouce
My trip to hike Le Pouce was a bit spontaneous. After spending a couple of nights up north, we decided to stop off to hike Le Pouce on the drive back to the west coast town of Flic-en-Flac. I’m very glad we did!
So lets take a little bit of a closer look at hiking Le Pouce…
Arriving at the car park a little before 12pm, I was actually surprised by how busy it was. Yeah, it was midday in December (summer) – perfect time to start the hike, peak heat! It was sweaty before even starting! However, because the walk is short, I wasn’t too concerned (don’t forget you don’t have to hike super early like some people claim – you do you!! Just be prepared for the heat!).
From the car park
The trail begins right from the car park.
There is a large sign indicating the different route options that begin from here, this short hike is not the only option.
This hike comes under the name ‘La Classique du Pouce’, but is more commonly simply known as ‘Le Pouce’.
- There are actually 4 different hikes which begin here – if a short hike is not enough for you, you can opt for a bigger challenge (or return another day for a different hike!). In addition to Le Pouce, the other routes are:
- Le Dauget (12.5km, 830m elevation gain),
- Le Grand Pouce (18km, 1064m elevation gain)
- Moke Range Challenge (28.4km, 1337m elevation gain)
- Hiking Le Pouce begins on the same route as the 3 others, but it veers off and up at one point. You could always head out to the summit, then return and continue along the route the 3 other trails follow instead of straight back to the car park. But likely, Le Pouce will leave you satisfied enough!!
(Note that on the sign here it says La Classique du Pouce (this hike), is 3.75km with 324m elevation gain. It doesn’t make sense that this sign would be incorrect, however I have a feeling it’s not including the final climb because it’s definitely slightly longer and higher than that (from both my own data and from what some others have said, too!).
Taking a picture of the map is always a good idea if you want to have a handy visual of the route you are following. The hike to Le Pouce follows the green route, so on the walk, you’re looking out for any green markers! You don’t want to miss the fork in the trail that takes you to Le Pouce and end up on one of the longer hikes (unless that’s your goal of course!).
The beginning of hiking Le Pouce
The trail begins on a bit of a gravel path, which initially isn’t the most scenic, but that soon changes! You can see the mountain up ahead and you wouldn’t imagine how beautiful it’s going to be going up there!
The trail does begin to climb from the beginning, getting steeper as the terrain changes to large stones + earth. This section can be muddy if the ground is wet – it was on my visit. Moreover, the rocks were quite slippy – do be careful! Trees overhang the trail here, hence the earth not drying out so quickly after rain. This does mean this part of the walk is sheltered and cooler so that’s a treat, especially in summer…
So yeah, this first part is all a bit of a climb!! But it’s not too long, know that it will even out a bit!
After some uphill, the trees do disperse, marking the beginning of the desirable Mauritius views and drier ground (the third picture!)!
There are some little look-out spots – perfect to enjoy the views (use them as an excuse for a break, and be sure to drink some water after that initial climb!).
Of course, there is more climbing to do but it’s not too difficult for this next part.
The terrain does change again, into an easier to walk on path. Hard-packed earth replaces the large stones. This part was very dry despite the earlier muddy section.
More beautiful views come into play!!
Stick to the green path to hike up Le Pouce
The first image below shows where the trial leads to the important fork in the path, which you don’t want to go wrong on. WALK TO THE RIGHT!!
Otherwise, you will end up following the path for the longer hikes if you head left here.
If you do choose to begin the hike from Port Louis, I ‘believe’ this is where you will join on the path – you will come in from the left then continue here to follow the trail up Le Pouce.
The trail is pretty easy around here, still climbing but quite gradually – not too much of an incline. The the terrain is good too – no rocks, we’re on the hard-packed earth!
The picture below is the view looking back the way – views are all around!!
The bottom of the ‘thumb’ + Pieter Both lookout
After a little more climbing, the trail fully opens up to some amazing views. This is the last point before the final climb, it’s a little like the ‘first summit’.
The highlight of the views from here is looking across to Pieter Both (the 2nd highest mountain in Mauritius). This has to be one of the, if not the, best spots on the island from where to view this mountain. Pieter Both looks super unique thanks to the ‘boulder’ at the top – spot it below! Le Pouce has a thumb, Pieter Both a boulder – Mauritius mountains like to stand out!
This spot on the Le Pouce hiking trail is definitely a photo spot and the perfect rest spot! There is plenty of space here too if you want to sit down on the grass and chill out for a little bit, take in the views, have a snack or so before the trickiest part of the trail!
If you don’t fancy tackling the final climb (a little more on that below), you could end the hike here and you wouldn’t be disappointed!! If you’re hiking on a rainy day, you would perhaps be best not climbing the final part. It could be slippery and dangerous, making this the best place to end your climb.
The final push to the summit of Le Pouce
Next up comes the steepest and most challenging part of hiking Le Pouce.
It’s time to actually hike ‘Le Pouce’ aka ‘the thumb’ part of the trail, pictured below.
This section of the trial does required you to use both hands and feet at times. Put your phone/camera away and save the photos for when you get to the top!
The climb is steep and rocky, hence the need for your hands to help push you up/balance you at some points.
Don’t worry, this section is short! Soon, you have reached the peak!!
Le Pouce summit
Unsurprisingly there are stunning panoramic views over Mauritius from the peak of Le Pouce.
The most notable view however is that down to the capital city of Mauritius, Port Louis.
On the other side you can again see a view similar to that from the section before the final climb, looking out over Pieter Both and beyond.
There are some rocks you can sit on up at the summit, so spend as much time as you wish up there!
The descent
And once you’re satisfied, it’s time to head back down the way you came.
On the descent from the summit, you get plenty of views to keep you occupied and have the way down fly by!
You’ll know what to expect terrain wise now and just again be careful on any slippy sections!
Finally, you’ll make it back to the car park hopefully feeling satisfied with the short but decently challenging hike that is Le Pouce. A new core memory of Mauritius!
It’s important to enjoy both the mountains and beaches of Mauritius, so why not check out another must do walk on this stunning island which is the coastal walk from Flic en Flac to Tamarin Bay. You can check out my post here – Flic en Flac to Tamarin Bay Coastal Beach Walk, Mauritius.
Another excellent fun day out in Mauritius is a trip to Casela Nature Park! My post Casela Nature Park, Mauritius – Must Do Day Trip from Flic en Flac will give you a little insight into a visit here!
