Le Pouce (; English: "The Thumb") is the third highest mountain in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, at 812 meters (2664 feet). Only Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m) and

Pieter Both Pieter Both (1568 – 6 March 1615) was the first Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Not much is known of his early years. In 1599, Both was already an admiral in the New, or Brabant Company. In that year, he traveled to the East Indie ...

(820 m) are taller. It is named Le Pouce because of the thumb-shaped peak of the mountain. It can be viewed from the capital of Mauritius,

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

, and is a popular hike for the view of the city. The mountain is in the Moka Range and is closest to the village of La Laura-Malenga in the

Moka District Moka () is a district of Mauritius, situated in the central plateau of the island. The district has an area of 230.5 km2. The population was estimated to be 83,664 at the end of 2019. History Places of interest * Bagatelle Mall Places Th ...

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

ascended the mountain on 2 May 1836.

Natural features

The

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

, the island chain that Mauritius lies in, is a

volcanic belt A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields or volcanic systems. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature () where magma is created ...

. Le Pouce is the second highest peak in the Moka Range, which was formed ten million years ago from volcano eruptions. The range is a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

and is no longer volcanically active. Le Pouce is overgrown with

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

and

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

, which are not native to the area. One example of flora

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Le Pouce is '' Pandanus pseudomontanus'' commonly known as Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine. This plant is not officially listed on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

, but

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has potentially assessed it as

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

. The only individuals of this species are two plants in the Le Pouce Mountain Nature Reserve. Since both of these are male plants, the species is at "extremely high risk of extinction'.

Hiking

The trek to the top of Le Pouce is considered an easy hike. However, the ascent is very steep, especially near the thumb. Le Pouce can be reached from Moka or Port Louis. Unlike Pieter Both, climbing gear is not needed. From the peak, Port Louis, Moka, and Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill can be seen, as well as many other places around the island.

History

Le Pouce was formed ten million years ago in a basalt lava dome. Charles Darwin ascended the mountain during his voyage around the world. He recorded in his journal: As time went by and tourism increased, hiking Le Pouce became a tourist attraction.

Le Pouce Nature Reserve

Le Pouce Nature Reserve was created in 1951. It protects an area of 0.69 km² on the mountain's northwest flank.UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Le Pouce Nature reserve from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 18 August 2021

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Gallery

Port Louis from Le Pouce.jpg, The view of Port Louis from the summit Moka Range.jpg, The Moka Range from the top of Le Pouce Le Pouce1.jpg, A view of "The Thumb" from a hiking trail Mauritius.png, Panoramic view of Mauritius from Le Pouce View-from-Le-Pouce-facing-Pieter-Both-2017-Luka-Peternel.jpg, View from Le Pouce facing

View-from-Le-Pouce-facing-south-west-2017-Luka-Peternel.jpg, View from Le Pouce facing Moka, Mauritius, Moka village

References and notes

{{Coord, 20, 11, 50, S, 57, 31, 42.6, E, display=title Mountains of Mauritius Protected areas of Mauritius