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A dormant volcanic crater on the hill above Curepipe, rimmed by a road and a walking path — and, on a clear morning, the widest 360-degree view of the central plateau you can get without hiking.
Trou aux Cerfs sits on a low hill on the edge of Curepipe, a near-perfect volcanic crater roughly 300 metres across and around 85 metres deep, with a small lake at the bottom and dense forest covering the inner slopes. The cone is dormant — the last activity in this part of the island was many thousands of years ago — and it is monitored by the geological services rather than treated as any kind of risk. What surprises most visitors is the setting: this is not remote countryside but a residential neighbourhood, with houses running almost to the rim.
A surfaced road loops the crater and a footpath runs alongside it, about a kilometre round, which locals use for morning and evening walks. There are benches, a viewing area and a small radar station on the high side. From the rim on a clear day you can see across the whole central plateau: the Moka range to the north, Corps de Garde and Rempart to the west, and on the best mornings the outline of Le Pouce and Pieter Both. Cloud is the deciding factor — Curepipe is the wettest, coolest part of the island and the plateau routinely clouds over by mid-morning, so early is not just advice here but the difference between a panorama and a wall of grey. The crater floor itself is not accessible; the view is from the rim.
Open daily, daylight hours
Free access, no ticket office
Rim road and footpath open to all
A light jacket — Curepipe is several degrees cooler and far wetter than the coast — and shoes you can walk a kilometre in. An umbrella is rarely wasted here.
The rim road is surfaced and the loop is gently graded, so it is manageable with a pushchair or with limited mobility, and there is roadside parking near the viewing area. The crater floor is not accessible to visitors.
The island’s other great crater, half an hour further south: a sacred lake ringed by temples and watched over by two colossal statues.
Continue west onto the plateau road for the widest view over the island’s largest national park and its native forest.
Half an hour down off the plateau: the capital’s central bazaar, best in the morning for fruit, spices and street food.
Trou aux Cerfs,
Edgar Hughes Street, Curepipe,
Plaines Wilhems District, Mauritius
Around 5 minutes from Curepipe centre
Approximately 40–50 minutes from Port Louis
Around 45 minutes from Flic-en-Flac
Signposted from central Curepipe, up a residential road to the crater rim, with roadside parking near the viewing area. The loop road is one-way in places.
No. It is a dormant crater; the last volcanic activity in this part of Mauritius was many thousands of years ago. The site is monitored by the geological services, and there is a small radar station on the rim.
Roughly 300 metres across and around 85 metres deep, with a small lake on the floor and dense forest covering the inner slopes. A road and footpath run right around the rim, about a kilometre in total.
No — the floor is not open to visitors. The viewing is from the rim, where there is a designated viewing area, benches and the loop path used by local walkers.
On a clear day, the whole central plateau: the Moka range to the north, Corps de Garde and Rempart to the west, and often Le Pouce and Pieter Both in the distance.
Early morning. Curepipe is the coolest and wettest part of the island and the plateau clouds over regularly by mid-morning, which can close the view entirely. Bring a light layer whatever the coast is doing.