Pieter Both, sometimes referred to as Peter Botte Mountain, is the second highest mountain of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
, at tall. The mountain is shorter than
Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire by eight metres. It is named after
Pieter Both
Pieter Both (1568 – 6 March 1615) was the first Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Not much is known of his early years. In 1599, Both was already an admiral in the New, or Brabant Company. In that year, he traveled to the East Indi ...
, the first
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese ...
. It is located in the
Moka Range.
The notable feature of this mountain is the gigantic rock formation at the very top of it, which resembles a human head. The palm species ''
Hyophorbe amaricaulis
''Hyophorbe amaricaulis'' (also known as the "loneliest palm") is a species of palm tree of the order Arecales, family Arecaceae, subfamily Arecoideae, tribe Chamaedoreeae. It is found exclusively on the island of Mauritius, and only a single ...
'', famous for being the
world's rarest palm today, was once a common sight on this mountain.
The first ascent of Pieter Both was by Captain Lloyd, Lieutenant Phillpotts, of the 29th Reg., Lieutenant Keppel, R.N., and Lieutenant Taylor on 7 September 1832.
To climb the mountain following the main ridge takes about an hour, and is mildly difficult. It is mainly a scramble, and being exposed, a rope is advised. The dramatic boulder on the pinnacle is about nine metres in diameter, and has several iron spikes fixed to it to aid climbing to the top. The top is flat and about two metres across.
References
Mountains of Mauritius
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