Le Pouce

Le Pouce (812 m), the island's third-highest summit, takes its name from a rocky spur shaped like a raised thumb above Port Louis. The most common route starts on the Moka side: a track through cane fields leads to a path up the ridge, followed by a short final scramble where you use your hands. The northern version from Tranquebar (Port Louis) is longer but shadier and works as a one-way traverse by bus. From the top you look over the capital, its harbour, Moka, Beau Bassin–Rose Hill and, further off, Pieter Both. An ideal half-day introduction to the central mountains.