Getting to Lion Mountain

Where you are heading

Vieux Grand Port sits on the coast road between Mahébourg and the fishing villages of Bois des Amourettes and Bambous Virieux, directly under the mountain. The trail leaves the road behind the police station at the northern end of the village, a few hundred metres from the Frederik Hendrik Museum, whose address is Royal Road, Old Grand Port. If you are using a navigation app, aim for the museum or the police station rather than the mountain itself, because the summit pin will try to route you to the Vallée de Ferney side.

There is no sign on the coast road saying Lion Mountain, and no official car park. The village has a shop on the main road a few steps from the start, bus stops in both directions, and not much else that a visitor needs. The trailhead page on this site describes the first hundred metres in detail.

Distances and times at a glance

Road distances below come from journey planners and are rounded. Driving times assume a clear road, which in Mauritius means early morning. Add time in the rush hours around Port Louis and on the motorway past the airport. The Grand Baie, Flic en Flac and Port Louis figures are to Mahébourg, the nearest town, and the last leg to Vieux Grand Port adds about 8 km and ten minutes.

From the airport

Lion Mountain is the closest real mountain to the airport, and the drive is short. Journey planners give 13.4 km and about 13 minutes from the terminal at Plaine Magnien to Vieux Grand Port, which in practice means a quarter of an hour once you have left the car park. The road runs north-east through Plaine Magnien and Mahébourg, then follows the coast around the bay with the lion ahead of you the whole way.

Taxis wait outside the terminal and this is one of the shortest fares on the island. There is no direct bus to the village. Bus 9 links the airport with Mahébourg in about ten minutes, and from the Mahébourg bus station you change to a coast road service. With a flight to catch, allow for the fact that rural buses stop around 18:30, and that a taxi driver who waits in the village while you climb will want to agree the price and the time before you set off. The airport page on this site covers fitting the hike around a flight.

From Mahébourg

Mahébourg is the natural base for the mountain, and the drive is about 8 km and ten minutes along the coast road through Ville Noire and past the bay. The bus station is on the esplanade near the waterfront. Departures from Mahébourg run roughly every half hour on most routes and there is nothing after about 18:00, so the last bus back is the number that matters if you are not driving.

No route number for the Mahébourg to Vieux Grand Port service is published by the online bus directories, although stops named Old Grand Port, Bambous Virieux and Grand Sable appear on the coast road. Ask at the Mahébourg bus station for the bus along the coast towards Bambous Virieux or Grand Sable and say Old Grand Port or the police station. Walking from Mahébourg is possible on a cool morning but adds a long road leg to a steep climb, and the coast road has no pavement for much of the way.

From Grand Baie, Flic en Flac and Port Louis

From the north and west the mountain is a cross-island journey. Grand Baie to Mahébourg is about 64 km and roughly an hour by car, with no direct bus. The public transport route is bus 23 into Port Louis and then bus 198 south to Mahébourg, which with the change and the coast road leg makes it a half-day trip before you have taken a step uphill. Flic en Flac to Mahébourg is about 47 km and roughly 40 minutes by car, and journey planners list bus 198 via Pellegrin for that leg too.

Port Louis to Mahébourg is about 46 km and roughly 40 minutes by car. Bus 198 runs between the two about every 15 minutes through the day and takes around an hour and 25 minutes. From Mahébourg you change again for the coast road. If you are staying in the north or west and want the mountain in the cool of the morning, a car or a taxi is the only realistic way to be in the village by seven, and a full-day guided outing with a transfer exists for exactly this situation.

Buses along the coast road

Rural bus services in Mauritius run from about 06:30 to 18:30, and the coast road through Vieux Grand Port is served from Mahébourg, with stops marked on both sides of the road through the village. The service is adequate for getting to the trailhead in the morning and poor for getting back if you linger, because the last departures are early and the frequency on the coast is lower than on the main routes.

Because no route number is published for the Mahébourg to Vieux Grand Port stretch, ask at the Mahébourg bus station on the day. Fares on rural routes are low and paid on board in cash. If you arrive by bus, check the time of the last service back before you start climbing, and remember that a three to four hour hike that begins at nine finishes in the heat of early afternoon.

Taxis

Taxis are the simplest way to reach the village without a car and the most expensive. Fares are negotiated rather than metered, so agree the price before you get in and be clear about the plan. From the airport or Mahébourg the fare is modest because the distance is short. From Grand Baie or Flic en Flac it is a long cross-island run and the price reflects that, and journey planners quote ranges rather than fixed figures.

Two arrangements work well. Either ask the driver to wait in the village for the three to four hours of the climb and agree a waiting price, or arrange a return pick-up time and carry the driver’s number, keeping in mind that phone coverage on the ridge is not something to rely on. Hotels and guesthouses around Mahébourg, Blue Bay and Pointe d’Esny can usually arrange a driver who knows the village.

Driving and parking

The B28 coast road is narrow, slow and pleasant, with the bay on one side and the mountain on the other. Drive on the left, expect buses, bicycles and dogs, and take the Vallée de Ferney turn-off only if you intend to enter the estate, which charges a fee and reportedly locks its car park when it closes at 16:00. The village start is about 2 km beyond that turn-off.

There is no official car park at the trailhead. Hikers park on the street near the police station, and reviewers describe easy parking near the shop on the main road a few steps from the start. Park considerately, leave nothing visible inside the car, and take valuables with you or leave them at your accommodation. An early arrival makes parking easier and the climb cooler.

• Aim for the Frederik Hendrik Museum or the Vieux Grand Port police station in your navigation app.
• Park on the street near the police station, not on the cane road.
• Leave nothing visible in the car.
• Do not park inside the Vallée de Ferney unless you are walking from there and will be out before it closes.