The hook
A dramatic basalt mountain plunging into a turquoise lagoon at the island's tip, its beauty shadowed by a poignant history as a refuge for escaped slaves, and a base for some of the Indian Ocean's best beaches and water sports.
01Why it's worth it
Mauritius is ringed by an almost continuous coral reef that encloses calm, clear lagoons in impossible shades of blue, and the southwest around Le Morne is its most striking corner. The Le Morne Brabant, a sheer basalt peak, rises above white beaches and reef, and it carries a moving history: it was a hideout for maroons, enslaved people who escaped to its inaccessible slopes, and it is now a UNESCO site commemorating their resistance and the abolition of slavery, a sober human story beneath the postcard scenery. The surrounding lagoons are a playground, superb for kitesurfing (Le Morne is a world-class spot), snorkelling, diving, and swimming in bath-warm water, and the offshore "underwater waterfall," an optical illusion of sand and currents seen from the air, is a famous curiosity. Beyond the beaches, the island mixes Creole, Indian, Chinese, and French cultures into a distinctive food and social fabric. Le Morne and its lagoons capture Mauritius at its most beautiful and most meaningful.
02How to experience it
Base in the southwest for the beaches and lagoon sports, kitesurfing, snorkelling, and diving, and learn the maroon history of Le Morne mountain, which the fit can hike part-way up. Take a scenic flight or viewpoint for the "underwater waterfall" illusion. Go in the drier, cooler season for the calmest water.