Home / Experience Mauritius / Beaches / Le Morne Beach
White sand, a shallow turquoise lagoon and a 556-metre basalt mountain standing directly behind it — the most photographed beach in Mauritius, and the centre of its kitesurfing world.
The public beach on the Le Morne peninsula gives you the island’s signature view without paying for a room: fine white sand, casuarinas for shade, a lagoon that stays waist-deep a long way out, and the UNESCO-listed monolith of Le Morne Brabant rising straight up behind you. The water inside the reef is clear and calm through the morning, which makes it a genuinely good swimming beach as well as a spectacular one.
Through the afternoon it becomes something else. The south-easterly trade wind funnels around the peninsula and turns this into one of the best-known kitesurfing and windsurfing locations in the world, with schools operating from the beach and, out beyond the reef, the heavy left-hand wave known as One Eye that draws experienced riders from everywhere. The season runs strongest from around May to October. If you are not riding, that is still worth watching — but it means the sheltered swimming is best taken early, and that you should stay well clear of the launch and landing zones marked out along the sand.
Shallow, clear and calm inside the reef, best in the morning. No lifeguards. Keep well clear of the kitesurf launch zones and the marked channels, and do not swim out towards the reef pass.
Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and water. Kite and board hire, lessons and refreshments are available from operators along the beach.
Free parking, casuarina shade and public access alongside the resort frontages. Watersports schools and snack vendors operate on the sand. Busy from midday onwards in kite season.
The mountain behind the sand: a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape and a guided hike to the summit.
The illusion created just offshore, where sand pours over the edge of the ocean shelf — seen only from the air.
In the same lagoon: a pale outcrop rising from shallow turquoise water, reached by catamaran or speedboat.
Le Morne public beach,
Le Morne peninsula,
Rivière Noire District, Mauritius
Around 45 minutes from Flic-en-Flac
Approximately 1 hr 15 min from Port Louis
Around 1 hr 15 min from the airport
Follow the road around the Le Morne peninsula past the village; the public beach is signposted, with free parking behind the treeline.
Yes. There is a free public beach with its own parking on the peninsula, alongside the resort frontages. The foreshore stays publicly accessible throughout.
Very, in the morning. The lagoon is shallow, clear and calm inside the reef. From midday the wind builds and kitesurfers take over, so swim early and keep well clear of the marked launch zones.
The south-easterly trade wind funnels around the peninsula and the lagoon offers flat water inside the reef with a heavy left-hand wave, One Eye, outside it. Conditions are strongest from around May to October, and schools operate directly from the beach.
Yes — several schools run lessons in the shallow lagoon, which is well suited to learning. One Eye and the outer reef are for experienced riders only.
The trailhead is a short drive around the peninsula rather than on the beach itself. The lower section is open to walkers; a licensed guide is required for the steep upper climb to the summit.