Mauritius will enchant you, will uplift your soul, making you feel that you belong to the chosen few. Every visitor enjoys personal attention. Every encounter is an opportunity to discover a friendly face. Behind each smile lies the promise of a unique holiday. The contrast of a multitude of colours and tastes, the island, set in its turquoise sea, is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. Mauritius, a melting pot where past and present are smoothly blended together, offers an essential beauty that will compel to return to its shores time and time again. May your stay with us remain engraved in your memory forever.
ÎLE AUX AIGRETTES
This popular ecotourism destination is a 26-hectare nature reserve on an island roughly 800m off the coast. It preserves very rare remnants of the coastal forests of Mauritius and provides a sanctuary for a range of endemic and endangered wildlife species. Visits are only possible as part of a guided tour, and these leave from Pointe Jérome, close to Le Preskîl. Highlights include Aldabra giant tortoises, ebony trees, wild orchids, and the endangered pink pigeon and other rare bird species.
As the guides to Île aux Aigrettes rightly point out, this is the last place in Mauritius where you can see it as the first explorers did almost five centuries ago – everywhere else, the land has been tamed. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation manages the reserve and conducts tours.
SIR SEEWOOSAGUR RAMGOOLAM BOTANICAL GARDENS
After London’s Kew Gardens, the SSR Gardens is one of the world’s best botanical gardens. It’s among the most popular tourist attractions in Mauritius and easily reached from almost anywhere on the island. Labelling of the plants is a work in progress, and you can hire one of the knowledgeable guides who wait just inside or use the maps for a self-guided tour. Golf-buggy tours (adult Rs 250, child Rs 100) are available on request for those with limited mobility.
The centrepiece of the gardens is a pond filled with giant Victoria amazonica water lilies, native to South America. Young leaves emerge as wrinkled balls and unfold into the classic tea-tray shape up to 2m across in a matter of hours. The flowers in the centre of the huge leaves open white one day and close red the next.
VALLÉE DE FERNEY
Protecting a 400-year-old forest, this reserve is an important habitat for the Mauritius kestrel, one of the world’s most endangered raptors, and a visit here is far and away your best chance of seeing one. Guides take you along a 3km trail, pointing out fascinating flora and fauna. At noon (arrive no later than 11.30am, or 10am if you’re also doing the hike), staff feed otherwise wild kestrels at the trailhead. Bookings for the tour are essential.
As an important habitat for endemic species, Vallée de Ferney is a hugely important conservation and ecotourism area. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, which helps to train the reserve’s guides and provides important input into its policies, has reintroduced a number of other endangered species, including the pink pigeon and echo parakeet, here. Keep an eye out for them if on a hike. There are currently 14 to 15 pairs of Mauritian kestrels in the reserve.
BLUE PENNY MUSEUM
Although dedicated to the world-famous Mauritian one-penny and two-pence stamps of 1847, the Blue Penny Museum is far more wide-ranging than its name suggests, taking in the history of the island’s exploration, settlement and colonial period, and even detouring into the Paul and Virginie story. It’s Port Louis’ best museum, one that give visitors a then-and-now look at the city, although travellers with mobility issues should know that the stamps are on the 1st floor and there’s no lift.
EUREKA
If you’re only going to visit one attraction related to Mauritius’ rich colonial history, choose Eureka. This perfectly preserved Creole mansion was built in the 1830s and today it’s a museum and veritable time machine providing incredible insight into the island’s vibrant plantation past. The main manor house is a masterpiece of tropical construction, which apparently kept the interior deliciously cool during the unbearably hot summers, and boasts 109 doors and more rooms than a Cluedo board.
Rooms are adorned with an impeccably preserved collection of period furniture imported by the French East India Company – take special note of the antique maps, a strange shower contraption that was quite the luxury some 150 years ago and the mildewed piano with keys like rotting teeth.
