Bowser Castle 1

Bowser Castle 1 is a race course from Super Mario Kart and features a stone road in a lava pool. The most dangerous obstacles are the Thwomps which appear at four points and always in groups of four. While they remain in the air in the first lap, they will go up and down in the following laps. When coming down, they can crush the driver, making it impossible to drive on for a few seconds. They can also be a simple barrier when remaining at the ground. Another danger is the lava. There are gaps which are usually easily to be crossed by jump lines. When jumping in the wrong direction, however, it is possible to fall into the lava. It is also dangerous to jump directly before a jump line because the jump line is avoided then and the player may fall into the lava pool. There is no real shortcut in this course, however the player may use the zippers halfway on the track. They are not used by computer drivers and thus can save a lot of time.

Appearance in Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Super Mario Kart's Bowser Castle 1 appeared again in Mario Kart Super Circuit, and it is the fourth and final race in the Extra Mushroom Cup. It uses the background which appears in Bowser Castle 1, 2 and 4 in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. It has an extra item box to the right of the bend that comes before the first lava hops. The Thwomps were removed in this version of the track.