Le Morne Peninsula, Mauritius - Dazzling Vast Rock, Hotels, Rock Crag, Mountain View, Adventure, Sight Viewing, Hiking
Evident from much of southern Mauritius, Le Morne Brabantis the dazzling, vast rock from which this stunning peninsula takes its name. The isthmus itself has some of the country’s best beaches along its 4km shores and is home to a number of posh hotels. Almost utterlydesolate by locals, the isthmus however has a particular reverberation in Mauritian culture – it was in fact here that a group of fugitive slaves fled in the early 19th century, hiding out on top of the mount to set themselves free. The story has it that the slaves, unaware of the fact that slavery had been abolished succeeding to their getaway, panicked when they saw a horde of soldiers making their way up the crags one day. Believing they were to be summoned up, the slaves flung themselves from the crag tops to their deaths in huge numbers, which explains the source of the name Le Morne (Mournful One). Though there are no historical records to validate the story, it’s an imperative one for Mauritians as aaide memoire of the island’s violent history.
