Mauritius
Le Morne
Le Morne Cultural Landscape encompasses a natural fortress that was used as a retreat for escaping slaves in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
These escapees (the maroons) took shelter in caves and on the slopes of Le Morne Brabant, a steep mountain located on a peninsula. Now it is a spiritual sanctuary, with high symbolic value and oral traditions about the resistance to slavery. Its dramatic visual dimension is a crucial part of its importance.
Community Perspective: easy to see but hard to visit, as few traces of maroon life remain and none of the reviewers so far has managed to comment on any cultural aspects. Climbing the peak is quite tough unless you’re a Swiss mountain goat.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Le Morne Cultural Landscape (ID: 1259)
- Country
- Mauritius
- Status
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Inscribed 2008
Site history
History of Le Morne
- 2008: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
- vi
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- lemorneheritage.org — Le Morne Heritage
- mauritius-holidays-discovery.com — Le Morne...Once Upon A Numinous Sanctuary
Community Information
- Community Category
- Human activity: Sites of Memory
- Cultural Landscape: Associative
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
2008 -
Works by Nobel Prize winning authors
J.M.G. LeClézio (2008), The Prospector -
Named after a Mountain
Le Morne Brabant "is a basaltic monolit…
Connections of Le Morne
- Geography
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Indian Ocean
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Situated in one of the SIDS
Mauritius 2008
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- Trivia
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Cultural sites closely connected to volcanoes
The mountain has a naturally dramatic form, its crumpled extinct volcano clashing brutally with the tranquillity of the low foothills and lagoons at its base (AB ev)
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- History
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Famous suicides
Maroons reputedly "..flung themselves to their death off its sides rather than be recaptured"
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- Architecture
- World Heritage Process
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Perfect Inscriptions
2008
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- Human Activity
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Maroonage
Testimony to maroonage or resistance to slavery -
Secret Locations
Hiding places for escaped slaves
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- Constructions
- Timeline
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Built in the 18th century
retreat for escaping slaves in the 18th and early 19th century
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- WHS Names
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Named after a Mountain
Le Morne Brabant "is a basaltic monolith with a summit 556 metres (1,824 ft) asl....the mountain is named after the VOC-ship (Dutch East India Company) Brabant that ran aground there on 29 December 1783." (Wiki)
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- 18
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Works by Nobel Prize winning authors
J.M.G. LeClézio (2008), The Prospector
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Le Morne
- AC
- Afshin Iranpour
- Alexander Lehmann
- alicemears
- Allison Vies
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Ammon Watkins
- Angel Ying Liu
- Artur Anuszewski
- Ask Gudmundsen
- Atila Ege
- Aunti
- Bram de Bruin
- Christoph
- Christravelblog
- dasexps
- David Marton
- Dennis Nicklaus
- Dorejd
- Doubanjiang
- Els Slots
- Eric PK
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fan Yibo
- Farinelli
- Felicité
- Fmaiolo@yahoo.com
- George Gdanski
- GerhardM
- GithaK
- Hanming
- HaraldOest
- Harald T.
- Harry Mitsidis
- Hdwilsonau
- Iain Jackson
- Ivan Rucek
- janameerman
- Janos
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Jay T
- jballard650
- Jesse S 2010
- JobStopar
- JoeriNortier
- john booth
- Junwang111
- Justin Rickey
- Kbecq
- kelseyyurek
- Kerékgyártó
- Kevin McFarland
- Kokoro
- Laurine
- Loic Pedras
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Mahuhe
- marcel staron
- Marcobrey
- Marinemajor
- Martina Rúčková
- Michael Ayers
- Michael Novins
- Michal Marciniak
- Mikko
- Monica Tasciotti
- Morodhi
- Mtlmr
- Naim Y
- NataliaS
- Nihal Ege
- Olli-Pekka Turunen
- PabloNorte
- Pascal Cauliez
- Pasha Globus
- patphilly
- Patrik_globe
- Philipp Leu
- Philipp Peterer
- Piotr Wasil
- Potsdamer
- pressdm
- Randi Thomsen
- Reiseblog
- Roger Ourset
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Roman Raab
- Rudegirl
- Sascha Grabow
- Serimari
- Sijia
- Slavi
- Sophie
- stephanvermeulen
- Svein Elias
- Szucs Tamas
- Tammy Gouldstone
- Thomas Buechler
- Thomas van der Walt
- Travelure
- Truls Brekke
- Vernon Prieto
- VMThumper
- WalGra
- Wo_ko
- Yongcheng Liu
- Zoë Sheng
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
We weren't able to hike very far up Le Morne when we visited because it had been raining and we were told that hiking it when it was so muddy was not advised. So we contented ourselves with just walking up the flanks of it a little ways, and driving around it to admire the views.
We also saw the Slave Monument, though the gate was closed when we were there.
OK, it's a nice small mountain, nice to look at, with a pretty view and some slave history. Otherwise, it isn't so remarkable and I don't really see much OUV.
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Le Morne is easily visible from all around the area, especially the fancy hotels at the beach. To enter the core zone however you have to drive to the only entrance. It’s marked on the main road as “access to mountain”. It’s from either side a 1.5km bumpy unpaved road. The door is open from 7am to 4pm. Entrance is free. The first part is a rather easy uphill stroll. The second part is protected by an iron fence and door that can only be opened by official guides. There is no official close to the fence and climbing it seems to be a very popular option for both locals and tourists.
The second part far more challenging. I would only recommend it to those who are not afraid of basic climbing. Don’t even try when it rains. The views make up for the effort and it’s a good feeling to reach the iron cross. I was not able to find anything connected to the escaped slaves living there, except maybe the trail itself, but I guess that’s hard if “not leaving traces” is part of the nomination. Me as a Swiss mountain goat did the whole trip in 2.5 hours. But I assume 4 hours is more realistic. Bring water and get up as early as possible. Especially on a Sunday it’s a popular destination. All in all a really enjoyable and picturesque WHS.
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Just a few days ago, my friends and I visited for the first time on the mountain Le Morne. We did not know about the guide and so just got up early in the morning and went. Next time we will know about guide. Way up took about half an hour. We stopped only once to make a couple of shots. When we got to the top - to the cross, we saw the most stunning views in the world. We saw reef currents, waves, boats, and many others. Having spent there 2 hours we went down. Came an hour before the bottom. Really tired. When you go there take a gallon of water per person and sunscreen. The patches can be useful. Aloha
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Officially the peak can be visited within an organised tour (trek) through the recognised guide Yan de Maroussem of Yanature. He is the only person that has permition from land owners (the most of inscribed area is private property) to do trek to almost the top of the mountain. Almost means that you can get only to so called "V" place - some 50 meters from the top. Even up to that point the trip is quite demanding (good shoes and mountain experience required).
Views from the top are really exceptional - especially those of Black River National Park. Recent price (October 2012) for 4 hours trek (usually starts at 7 a.m.) was around 40 Euro. You will feel every single euro while climbing the mountain.
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Le Morne is easy to see but hard to visit. I had my first look at it from the plane arriving from Paris. On the descent, this remarkably shaped mountain at the tip of Mauritius was very clearly visible. Its inaccessibility of course is part of its history. The steep cliffs deterred many. Mauritius even stated at the nomination of this site for WHS that the absence of cultural evidence is the ultimate proof of maroon life, as they had to be as invisible as possible. That's a daring statement for a 2034-page-long nomination file!
Few traces remain: six rock shelters used by maroons have been discovered on the summit, and a network of trails used by the former slaves is also still there. Fishing for your own meal is a common pastime too in the modern Le Morne village like it was during slavery. But there's nothing specific to see for the casual visitor. I started out on foot from Le Morne, and walked on the beach onto the thin isthmus that separates Le Morne from the Mauritian mainland. At that spot, there's a sign that you enter the WHS area.
Le Morne Village nowadays is a sleepy town, where people surf and fish. Like other villages in the area, it is mostly inhabited by Creoles, and as such has a less Indian feel than the rest of the island. The taxi driver that had taken me there made the best out of our visit and bought …
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Le Morne is a very wonderful place to visit. The moutain with its surrounding natural landscape, the traditional village of Le Morne who welcome us warmly. I also appreciated a lot the warm reception we received at the site office of the Le Morne Heritage trust Fund where we have been told about the history of the mountain, runaway slaves who sacrificed for death over capture and the tradition of the villagers of Le Morne. For anyone who is looking for a quiet and unforgettable place, Le Morne is the ideal paradise.
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