A few metres away from the bend at Yemen, on your right, you will notice a dusty track covered with sand. That’s the access road to the historic salt pans of Les Salines which is bounded on one side by the quarters of salt workers and on the other by a river meeting the sea. Fresh water from the river, taking its source from Black River Gorges mingles with sea water lapping into the land giving birth to amazing scenery and breeds lush green mangroves against a backdrop of the Black River mountain range.

The sandy track winds through thick acacia undergrowth and at places the salt pans are visible through the thorny branches of the acacia shrubs. The wide stretch of salt pans starting right from the black stone structure of the salt stocking sheds is indeed spectacular. Further down, there is an old quarry which remains dry most of the time. However, it provides habitat for wading and migratory birds and a number of coastal bird populations such as the Whimbrel, Curlew, Sandpiper and Turnstone among others. It is also reported that in addition to the wild zone of vegetation surrounding the salt pans, there remains some rare endemic grass, Phyllantus Revaughn­ni growing in the area.

Mauritius has a rich salt making tradition dating back to the early 19th century. Saltpans are the unique characteristics of Les Salines from where it derives its name. The very first saltpan was built at Les Salines around 1808 by François Fortier and many other pans mushroomed on the site as the salt business expanded. The first saltpan was built in a geological depression below sea level which facilitated the movement of sea water into the pan at high tide. Once the seawater was trapped inside, it was left to evaporate until salt crystals appeared. The salt business flourished until 1829 when competition from Europe caused the production to fall. Years later, in 1842, Auguste Boileau re-ignited the interest in local salt market by persuading a gathering of the Société h’Histoire that his salt was of superior quality than that of Europe.

Robert Koenig became the owner of Les Salines in 1907 and he was the first to experiment with a system of terraces and valves. After the terracing system reaped success, he began improving the crystallizing process. Koenig also installed the first pump to support the movement of seawater into the pans. His innovation paid off and his techniques are still in practice even today.

As a matter of fact, the salt making at Les Salines predates the abolition of slavery in Mauritius. The reason explaining this is that salt production never required the number of slaves or indentured labourers that sugar production demanded. How­ever, early depictions of salt workers indicate that they were of African descent. The history of these workers may still exist within the oral traditions of creoles that live and work in the area today.

The area surrounding Les Salines is also of great national importance as almost adjacent to it there is a national heritage site which holds old fortifications.