Le Pouce, Mountain summit in Port Louis District, Mauritius.

Le Pouce is a mountain in the Moka Range whose summit rises to 812 metres, the third highest in Mauritius. Its name comes from the thumb-shaped peak, a rounded rocky tip of dark brown and grey from which ridges slope down on both sides. Dense green vegetation covers the slopes, darker near the top and lighter toward the base, with a faint vertical seam on the front face below the peak.

The mountain was visited by scientists and explorers in the 19th century, including Charles Darwin, who reached the summit during his 1836 visit to Mauritius. These early expeditions documented the peak as an important geographical point on the island.

The name Le Pouce comes from the thumb-shaped peak that can be seen from Port Louis. The mountain is climbed from Moka or Port Louis, and its summit is a viewpoint over the capital, Moka and Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill. The Le Pouce Mountain Nature Reserve, created in 1951, protects the northwest flank.

Two main trails reach the summit: a shorter southern route of about 2.3 kilometers starting from Moka and a longer northern path of about 6.3 kilometers from Port Louis. The southern trail is steeper but quicker, while the northern route climbs more gradually and starts closer to the city center.

On clear days, the summit offers sight lines extending from the capital city to the northern islands, with sugar cane fields visible across the plains. This panorama reveals the agricultural heritage of the island and its geographical position in a single view.