Top Tourist Places
Jardin des Pamplemousses
It is no doubt that most days spent on holiday in Mauritius will be on the pearly white beaches the island boasts. But when you feel like doing something other than lying on the sand, there are a number of interesting places you can visit. The botanical gardens, known in Mauritius as Jardin des Pamplemousses (literally translated as Garden of Grapefruit) is a beautiful place to visit while on a Mauritius holiday.
You can spend hours wandering through some 62 acres of garden, where 500 different plant species are waiting to be admired. One of the most fascinating plants is the talipot plant, a remarkable plant which takes 60 years to flower, and then when it finally does, it does so suddenly. The giant Amazon water lily, with a diameter of 1.5m can be found in the lily pond, one of the garden’s central attractions. This park is well worth a visit when on holiday in Mauritius and provides an interesting day out when not on the beach.
Chamarel’s Coloured Earth
One of the most fascinating natural phenomena in Mauritius is the rainbow-like earth found in Chamarel. At this spectacular site, the earth separates into 7 different colours, ranging from yellow, red and orange to deep purple and blue. This attraction will certainly be an interesting site to see when on holidays in Mauritius.
No matter the weather, come rain or shine, these colours never mix, so whenever you go, the colours can clearly be seen. The phenomenon is said to be a result of the uneven rate at which the original molten rock was cooled, but the fact that the colours remain separated is what is so intriguing about the site. Even mixing the different sand colours around in a test tube will fail to permanently mix the colours, as the sand naturally separates again within a matter of days. You can even buy a tube full of the sand as a memento of your Mauritius holiday.
Isle Aux Cerfs
An excellent day out is a trip to the island of Aux Cerfs, a small and beautiful island off the east coast of Mauritius. You can walk around in the island in about 3 hours, enjoying beautiful scenery along the way. Stop off at secluded beach coves, and swim in the beautiful clear ocean. A Mauritius hotel, Le Touessrok, has a variety of watersports available, so you can enjoy the Indian Ocean to the fullest when on this island.
Le Morne Brabant
One of the most beautiful places to stay when on a Mauritius holiday is Le Morne Brabant. Situated on the south-western tip of Mauritius, this isolated peninsula hosts some of the most upmarket Mauritius hotels. The area’s most prominent feature is the mountain rising from the centre of Le Morne peninsula, a 555m basaltic land mass. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site because of its slave history.
Another interesting feature of the area is that it is home to the extremely rare Mandrinette flower, an almost never seen type of hibiscus. A range of watersports, a golf course and trips to nearby islands can all be arranged in this area, making it an ideal location for a Mauritius holiday.
Claire Bryant is a Mauritius holiday expert for key2holidays, an online tour operator that will help you book your ideal Mauritius holidays, as well as trips to Australia, Cuba, the Caribbean, Europe, Egypt, the Far East, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Dubai and the Arabian Gulf and South Africa.
