Black River Gorges National Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in the hilly south-western part of Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

. It was proclaimed on June 15, 1994 and is managed by the National Parks and Conservation Service. It covers an area of 67.54 km² including humid upland forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

, drier lowland forest and marshy heathland. Facilities for visitors include two information centres, picnic areas and 60 kilometres of trails. There are four field stations in the park which are used for research.

The park protects most of the island's remaining rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 although much of this has been degraded by introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 plants such as Chinese guava and privet

Privet

Privet was originally the name for the European semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare, and later also for the more reliably evergreen Ligustrum ovalifolium , used extensively for privacy hedging. It is often suggested that the name privet is related to private, but the OED states that there is no...

 and animals such as rusa deer

Rusa Deer

The Javan Rusa or Sunda Sambar is a deer native to the islands of Java, Bali and Timor in Indonesia...

 and wild pigs. Several areas have been fenced off and invasive species have been eradicated from them to preserve native wildlife. Many endemic plants and animals still occur in the park including the Mauritian flying fox

Mauritian flying fox

The Mauritian flying fox , also known as Greater Mascarene flying fox or Mauritius fruit bat is a large megabat species endemic to Mauritius and La Réunion.-Description:...

 and all of the island's endemic birds: Mauritius kestrel

Mauritius Kestrel

The Mauritius Kestrel is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines.It is the most distinct of the Indian Ocean kestrels...

, pink pigeon

Pink Pigeon

The Pink Pigeon, Columba mayeri, is a species of Columbidae endemic to Mauritius, and is now very rare. It was on the brink of extinction in 1991 when only 10 individuals remained, but its numbers have increased due to the efforts of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1977...

, Mauritius parakeet

Mauritius Parakeet

The Mauritius Parakeet , also known as Echo Parakeet, is the sole survivor of the Psittacula species which inhabited the southern Indian ocean islands near Madagascar. Its local name is katover.-Taxonomy:...

, Mauritius cuckoo-shrike

Mauritius Cuckoo-shrike

The Mauritius Cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is endemic to Mauritius.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-External links:*...

, Mauritius bulbul

Mauritius Bulbul

The Mauritius Bulbul , also known as Mauritius Black Bulbul, is a songbird endemic to Mauritius. Formerly, it was included in H. borbonicus as subspecies olivaceus....

, Mauritius olive white-eye

Mauritius Olive White-eye

The Mauritius Olive White-eye is a very rare passerine from the family of white-eyes . It is endemic to the island of Mauritius.-Description:...

, Mauritius grey white-eye and Mauritius fody

Mauritius Fody

The Mauritius Fody is a rare species of bird in the weaver family. It is endemic to the island of Mauritius. It is classified by BirdLife International as being endangered. It is also on the United States' Endangered Species List with an endangered status.This bird is 14 centimeters long...

.