Moka
The most interesting of the Central Plateau towns, the country’s academic centre and official home to the president of Mauritius, Moka is a great place to visit for a taste of Mauritian history. The scenery is dramatic here too, with waterfalls, valleys and the towering Le Pouce in the background. Moka’s main attraction, though, is the captivating colonial mansion of Eureka. Almost perfectly preserved from the mid-19th century, it provides a window to the island’s plantation past.

Maison 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 estate’s unusual name is believed to have been the reaction of Eugène Le Clézio when he successfully won a bid to purchase the house at auction in 1856.
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.
The courtyard behind the main mansion contains beautifully manicured grounds surrounded by a set of stone cottages – the former servants quarters and kitchen. Follow the trail out the back for 15 minutes and you’ll reach the lovely Ravin waterfall .

Curepipe
Effectively Mauritius’ second city, Curepipe is a bustling highland commercial centre famous for its rainy weather, volcanic crater and retail shopping. Its strange name reputedly stems from the malaria epidemic of 1867 when people fleeing from lowland Port Louis would ‘cure’ their pipes of malarial bacteria by smoking them here (although it’s more likely that the area was named after a fondly remembered town in France).
Curepipe is the highest of the plateau towns. At 550m above sea level, temperatures are refreshingly cool in summer, but according to lowlanders, Curepipe has two seasons: the little season of big rains and the big season of little rains. The damp climate gives the buildings an ageing, mildewed quality. Bring an umbrella.
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Trou aux Cerfs
About 1km west of central Curepipe, the Trou aux Cerfs is an extinct volcanic crater some 100m deep and 1km in circumference. The bowl is heavily wooded and from the road around the rim – a favourite spot for joggers and walkers – you get lovely views of the plateau. There are benches for rest and reflection, and a radar station for keeping an electronic eye on cyclone activity.
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Domaine Les Pailles
Just a few miles outside of the capital, the strange sugar-estate-turned-theme-park Domaine Les Pailles has been transformed into a cultural and heritage centre that makes for an enjoyable half-day excursion. The facilities include rides in horse-drawn carriages, a miniature railway, a working replica of a traditional ox-driven sugar mill, a rum distillery producing the estate’s own brew, a spice garden, a quad-biking circuit and a children’s playground. On weekdays it’s also possible to horseback ride around the estate.

Cap Malheureux Bay
Cap Malheureux Bay has a well known red-roof church of Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice de Cap Malheureux. The view of Gunners Quion Island from here is superb. There are a couple of stalls with snacks and drinks.
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Port-Louis
Port Louis ( por loo-ee), the island’s capital and largest city, can feel like a kaleidoscope of countries and cultures, with flashes of India, Africa, Europe, China and the Middle East. Unless you’ve essential business to transact here, or unless you’re in the country for a prolonged visit, there aren’t that many reasons to come – there are numerous other day excursions that we’d rank above Port Louis. But if you are here, it can be a good place to take the pulse of the country and to get an alternative slant on the island’s rarefied world of resorts and private beaches. Most interest lies amid the bustle and chaos of the streets, the tangle of ethnic quarters and some wonderfully preserved colonial buildings. Apart from Le Caudan Waterfront, it all shuts down after dark when countless day commuters rumble out of town at sunset en route to their homes on the Central Plateau.
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Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden
Don’t be put off if you’ve never been particularly interested in botany – after London’s Kew Gardens the SSR Botanical Gardens is one of the world’s best botanical gardens. It’s also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Mauritius and is easily reached from almost anywhere on the island.
Labelling of the plants is a work in progress and they don’t have maps, so we strongly recommend that you hire one of the knowledgeable guides who wait just inside the gardens’ entrance; golf buggy tours are also available upon request for those with limited mobility. If you don’t take a guide and go it alone you’ll miss many of the most interesting species.
The gardens, named after Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first prime minister of independent Mauritius, were started by Mahé de Labourdonnais in 1735 as a vegetable plot for his Mon Plaisir Château (which now contains a small exhibition of photographs). The landscape came into its own in 1768 under the auspices of the French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre. Like Kew Gardens, the gardens played a significant role in the horticultural espionage of the day. Poivre imported seeds from around the world in a bid to end France’s dependence on Asian spices. The gardens were neglected between 1810 and 1849 until British horticulturalist James Duncan transformed them into an arboretum for palms and other tropical trees.
Palms still constitute the most important part of the horticultural display, and they come in an astonishing variety of shapes and forms. Some of the more prominent are the stubby bottle palms, the tall royal palms and the talipot palms, which flower once after about 40 years and then die. Other varieties include the raffia, sugar, toddy, fever, fan and even sealing-wax palms. There are many other curious tree species on display, including the marmalade box tree, the fish poison tree and the sausage tree.
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. The lilies are at their biggest and best in the warm summer months, notably January.
Another highlight is the abundant birdlife – watch for the crimson hues of the Madagascar fody – while there are captive populations of deer and around a dozen giant aldabra tortoises near the park’s northern exit, close to the chateau. Also nearby is the funerary platform where Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was cremated (his ashes were scattered on the Ganges in India) while various international dignitaries have planted trees in the surrounding gardens, including Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi and a host of British royals.
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Pereybere
As development continues to boom along the north coast, it’s becoming rather difficult to tell where Grand Baie ends and Pereybère (peu-ray-bear) begins. This area is very much the second development on the north coast after Grand Baie and has found the sweet spot between being a bustling tourist hub and a quiet holiday hideaway.

Grand Baie
In the 17th century the Dutch used to call Grand Baie ‘De Bogt Zonder Eynt’, which meant the ‘Bay Without End’. Today it appears as though it’s the development – not the bay – that’s without end. As such, Grand Baie has all the vices and virtues of beach resorts the world over. The virtues include good accommodation, bars and restaurants, while the vices can be found in water frontages consumed by concrete and touts, although the latter, in true Mauritian style, nudge rather than push. To escape the downtown scene, head for charming and quiet Pointe aux Canonniers.
The beach at Grand Baie is nothing special and the bay here is congested with boats. Instead, you’re better off heading for La Cuvette public beach beside the Verandah Hotel towards Pereybère; it can get crowded on weekends. If you continue north, you’ll find a series of sandy beaches accessible by small passages between the seemingly continuous string of private villas.

Gunner's Quoin
The distinctive Coin de Mire (Gunner’s Quoin), 4km off the coast, was so named because it resembles the quoin (wedge) used to steady the aim of a cannon. The island is now a nature reserve and home to a number of rare species, such as the red-tailed tropicbird and Bojer’s skink. None of the major catamarans stop here as landing is often difficult. Despite the island’s striking shape there’s not much to see here anyway – it’s the kind of place that looks far better from far away.
Most operators take you to the lagoon between Île Plate and Îlot Gabriel, 7km further north, which offers good snorkelling. Barbecue lunches are served on a sandy patch of Îlot Gabriel, while 20° Sud’s luxury cruiser currently has the sole right to land on Île Plate – day-trippers eat in the charming ruins of the Governor’s House.

Île Ronde Île aux Serpents
Île Ronde (Round Island) and Île aux Serpents (Snake Island) are two significant nature reserves about 20km and 24km respectively from Mauritius. It is not possible to land on them. Ironically, Île Ronde is not round and has snakes, while Île aux Serpents is round and has no snakes; the theory is that an early cartographer simply made a mistake.
Île Ronde covers roughly 170 hectares and scientists believe it has more endangered species per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. Many of the plants, such as the hurricane palm (of which one lonely tree remains) and the bottle palm, are unique to the island. The endemic fauna includes the keel-scaled boa and the burrowing boa (possibly extinct), three types of skink and three types of gecko. Among the seabirds that breed on the island are the wedge-tailed shearwater, the red-tailed tropicbird and the gadfly (or Round Island) petrel. Naturalist Gerald Durrell gives a very graphic description of the island in his book Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons .
The smaller Île aux Serpents (42 hectares) is a renowned bird sanctuary. The birds residing on the island include the sooty tern, the lesser noddy, the common noddy and the masked (blue-footed) booby. Nactus geckos and Bojer’s skinks are also found here.

Grand Gaube
Grand Gaube, about 6km east of Cap Malheureux, is where the development of northern Mauritius currently ends, although expect that to change. Until it does, it remains a tiny fishing village with a good beach. Beyond the small rocky bays of Grande Gaube there are almost no beaches until a long way down the east coast, making any trip beyond here an illuminating glimpse into traditional Mauritian life without the tourists. In 1744 the St Géran foundered off Grand Gaube in a storm, inspiring the famous love story Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de St-Pierre.

L'Aventure du Sucre
On the other side of the motorway’s roundabout from the botanical gardens, the former Beau Plan sugar factory now houses one of the best museums in Mauritius. It not only tells the story of sugar in great detail, but also covers the history of Mauritius, slavery, the rum trade and much, much more. Allow a couple of hours to do it justice.
The original factory was founded in 1797 and only ceased working in 1999. Most of the machinery is still in place and former workers are on hand to answer questions about the factory and the complicated process of turning sugar cane into crystals. There are also videos and interactive displays as well as quizzes for children. At the end of the visit you can taste some of the 15 different varieties of unrefined sugar, two of which were invented in Mauritius.

Château de Labourdonnais
One of the loveliest examples of colonial architecture on the island, recently restored Chateau Labourdonnais was completed in 1859. Built in teak and sporting an Italian neoclassical style, the chateau is perfectly proportioned and filled with sober Victorian furnishings interspersed with some exceptionally lovely design flourishes. Compulsory guided tours last for 45 minutes. After the tour, wander through the lush gardens, taste the rum from the on-site distillery and stay for a meal at the restaurant where the menu changes daily.
To get here, head north along the M2 motorway for around 3km then take the exit for Mapou, then follow the signs.

Mont Choisy Beach
Mont Choisy is a stunning almost 3km long stretch of white sand and turquoise water. The slight bend of the beach creates a beautiful bay. There are plenty of trees for shade and lots of fun water activities such as water skiing, parasailing and jet skis.
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Bain Boeuf Beach
Bain Boeuf offers a great view of Coin de Mire Island. There are benches attached to the walls so you can sit back comfortably and relax under the shades of trees. The beach does become rather narrow when the tide is high but it is still fairly long. This is not that great a beach for swimming but is where many boats depart for scuba diving.
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Anse La Raie Beach
Anse La Raie is wonderfully peaceful and quiet. Here you can enjoy stunning views of the north Indian Ocean. There are also great opportunities for both snorkelling and perhaps a bit of kitesurfing if the wind is good. The beach is not ideal for swimming but it’s a great open space with nice views and some quietness away from the hustle and bustle of other beaches.
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Butte á l’Herbe Beach
Butte á l’Herbe beach is the forgotten beach of Mauritius. The area is actually an island, connected to the mainland by a couple of small bridges and driving across can feel somewhat precarious. There are decent facilities, public restrooms and a maintained beach area with benches and huts. This is a shady and a great place to have a BBQ and enjoy the day.

Le Morne
Visible from much of southwestern Mauritius, the iconic Le Morne Brabant (556m) is a stunning rock crag from which this beautiful peninsula takes its name. Shaped like a hammerhead shark, the peninsula itself has some of the island’s best beaches, now home to a number of upmarket hotels.
Although almost totally uninhabited by locals, Le Morne has a deep resonance in Mauritian culture. According to legend, a group of escaped slaves fled to the peninsula in the early 19th century, hiding out on top of the mountain to remain free. The story goes that the slaves, ignorant of the fact that slavery had been abolished just before their escape, panicked when they saw a troop of soldiers making their way up the cliffs. Believing they were to be recaptured, the slaves flung themselves from the cliff tops to their deaths in huge numbers. And thus the crag earned its name – Le Morne means Mournful One. Although there are no historical records to substantiate the story, it’s an important tale for Mauritians and was critical in Le Morne being granted Unesco World Heritage status in 2008.

La Gaulette
South of Black River, the mountains draw ever closer to the coast. You’ll find pinewoods and mangroves mingling with the lapping waves, but little in the way of habitation besides the pockets of impoverished shanty towns along the road. Then, a small township emerges under the shade of the nearby hills – it’s a quiet place where the lazy fisherfolk lifestyle effortlessly mixes with the carefree surfer vibe. Welcome to La Gaulette.
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Grand Bassin
According to legend, Shiva and his wife Parvati were circling the earth on a contraption made from flowers when they were dazzled by an island set in an emerald sea. Shiva, who was carrying the Ganges River on his head to protect the world from floods, decided to land. As he did so a few drops of water dripped from his head and landed in a crater to form a lake. The Ganges expressed unhappiness about its water being left on an uninhabited island, but Shiva replied that dwellers from the banks of the Ganges would one day settle there and perform an annual pilgrimage, during which water from the lake would be presented as an offering.
The dazzling island is, of course, Mauritius; the legendary craterlake is known as Grand Bassin (Ganga Talao). It is a renowned pilgrimage site, to which up to 500,000 of the island’s Hindu community come each year to pay homage to Shiva during the Maha Shivaratri celebrations. This vast festival takes place over three days in February or March (depending on the lunar cycle) and is the largest Hindu celebration outside India.
The most devoted pilgrims walk from their village to the sacred lake carrying a kanvar, a light wooden frame or arch decorated with paper flowers. This is no easy feat – February is Mauritius’ hottest month and it almost always rains during the festivities. Once the pilgrims arrive they perform a puja , burning incense and camphor at the lake shore and offering food and flowers.

Chamarel
Known throughout the island for its hushed bucolic vibe and cool breezes, Chamarel is a hidden hamlet tucked into the western hills. It’s well-known for its excellent eating scene and we also love it as a stop en route to/from the Black River Gorges National Park.

Black River Gorges National Park
Mauritius’ biggest and best national park is a wild expanse of rolling hills and thick forest covering roughly 2% of the island’s surface. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of this park – it’s the last stand for the island’s forests and many of its native species. It’s also the most spectacular corner of the island and if you make only one day trip from the coast make it here.
Once the island’s prime hunting grounds, the area became a protected preserve in 1994 after scientists identified over 300 species of flowering plants, nine endemic species of bird and a population of giant fruit bats that numbered more than 4000. This is also an important habitat for three of the island’s most endangered bird species – the Mauritius kestrel, the echo parakeet and the pink pigeon. Introduced wild boar, macaque monkeys and curious deer also wander through the vast swaths of old-growth ebony, and sightings are not uncommon.
There are numerous trails that criss-cross Black River Gorges National Park like unravelling shoestrings. While all of the trailheads are clearly marked along one of the two roads running through the park, many of the paths can quickly get obscured in the brush, leaving hikers confused. It’s well worth stopping at one of the visitors centres to grab a crude map and check in about the current state of the trails. We recommend hiring a guide if you’re serious about exploring the park and uncovering the majestic viewpoints. You can also contact the visitors centres ahead of time to enquire about hiring a ranger.
If you choose one of the one-way trails that ends at the Black River Gorges Visitor Centre, ring ahead to make sure that the road from Rivière Noire into the visitor centre is open – it’s sometimes impassable by vehicle, which may prevent the taxi you aranged to meet you there from turning up!
The best time to visit the park is during the flowering season between September and January. Look for the rare tambalacoque (dodo tree), the black ebony trees and the wild guavas. Bird-watchers should keep an eye out for the Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Mauritius cuckoo-shrike.

Flic en Flac
As wonderful and whimsical as the name sounds, Flic en Flac isn’t quite the picture of paradise you saw on your travel agent’s website. The area’s moniker is thought to be a corruption of the old Dutch name Fried Landt Flaak (meaning ‘Free and Flat Land’); the endless acreage of sandy shoreline was undoubtedly striking when explorers first arrived in the 18th century. Today, the public beach is peppered with weeping filao trees, and the area is exploding with apartment complexes, souvenir shops, moneychangers and pinchpenny holiday rentals. Although development in Flic en Flac has gone the way of Grand Baie, it’s still about a dozen clubs and restaurants short of attracting a party crowd in earnest. All is not lost, however; the beach is still one of the best in Mauritius and if you stay at any of the high-end resorts in the Wolmar area outside the town, you’ll uncover some stellar stretches of sand, glorious diving and a handful of palate-pleasing restaurants.

Albion
A small dent of coral-strewn tranquillity between Port Louis and Flic en Flac, the quiet waters of Albion are home to a lovely house reef offshore.

Casela Nature Leisure Park
This 14-hectare nature park is on the main road 1km south of the turn to Flic en Flac. When you arrive at the entrance gate you are greeted with a bewildering range of options – in addition to being a zoo, the beautifully landscaped reserve offers a variety of heart-pumping ‘rando fun’ like ziplines, suspension bridges, hiking, swimming spots hidden in canyons and quad-bike ‘safaris’ around the neighbouring 45-sq-km Yemen Reserve which is home to deer, wild pigs, fruit bats and monkeys. Children are well catered for with a petting zoo, a playground, giant tortoises, fishing and minigolf. Check out the website for a full list of prices or spend some time at the information desk before the main entrance to get a handle on how to spend your day.
If you simply pay the admission fee, you’ll be free to wander the grounds, where you’ll see tortoises, a huge range of exotic birds and a few primate species in cages.

Médine Sugar Factory
Rather unattractively spewing out smoke into the countryside around Flic en Flac is the Médine Sugar Factory, one of the country’s biggest. During the cutting season (July to early November) it’s possible to take a guided one-hour tour of the factory. You can also visit the distillery, where the ‘waste’ molasses is turned into rum. The visit ends with a tasting session. Call ahead for details. The factory is 6km northeast of Flic en Flac. If you get stuck behind a sugar-cane truck overburdened by harvested crops, you can bet it’s heading here.

Tamarin Black River (Rivière Noire)
The large swath of beach-fringed land between Flic en Flac and Le Morne is known to most Mauritians as Rivière Noire (Black River). One of the island’s last coastal areas to witness development, this constellation of townships has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years as unsightly salt flats morph into stylish housing projects for South African expats, and traditional hunting grounds get reimagined as scenic zoos and cycling paths. Despite the sudden appearance of modern structures, Black River is a great place to base yourself for a more active and authentic experience. Sensational hiking, scenic shorelines, top-notch fishing and interesting historical relics are all within arm’s reach.

Martello Tower
In the 1830s the British built five ‘Martello’ towers – copies of the tower at Mortella Point in Corsica (vowel order was apparently not a priority for the British) – to protect their young colony from predators (namely the French who were suspected of supporting a slave rebellion). Although the other towers have fallen into ruin, the one at La Preneuse has been converted into a small museum. Captions explain the tower’s ingenious design – walls measure 3m in thickness and are crowned by a copper cannon that could apparently destroy a target 2km away.

La Route du Sel
Not quite a route like the Route du Thé, the 18th-century salt flats along the main road in Tamarin are a popular stopping point for camera-happy travellers. This is the last place in Mauritius where salt is still produced and the compulsory 15- to 20-minute guided tour takes you through the history of this fading industry with the chance for some good photos. There’s also a small shop at the entrance.

Tamarin Beach
Locals like to wax nostalgic about Tamarin Beach, and in many ways this sandy cove still feels like a throwback to earlier times – especially since the centrally located Tamarin Hotel looks like it hasn’t been renovated since Jaws was in cinemas.
Once upon a time the area was known as Santosha Bay (you’ll still find the word ‘Santosha’ scribbled on a few buildings in faded paint) and offered wave hunters some of the best surfing on the planet. In fact, before the bay earned the name Santosha, locals refused to give the beach a moniker because they didn’t want outsiders to discover their cache of surfable seas!
Today the waves and currents have changed and surfing at Le Morne has really taken off, but Tamarin – unmarred by high-walled resort compounds – remains a popular place and during the evening live jazz tunes waft through the air.

Tamarin Falls
Positioned on the outskirts of the Black River Gorges roughly 8km southwest of Curepipe in central Mauritius, this set of seven scenic cascades (some say 11) is a wonderful reward for those willing to take on a challenging hike.
Attempts to access the falls should not be done without a guide. Local guides (charging Rs 500 to 1000) usually wait around the bus station at Henrietta, a township near Curepipe.
For a truly unique and unforgettable experience, adventurers can abseil from chute to chute on a half- or full-day canyoning excursion with Vertical World (www.verticalworldltd.com) or Otélair (www.otelair.com). Both operators start their trips from Henrietta as well.

Chamarel Waterfall
About halfway (1.5km) between the Terres de 7 Couleur’s entrance gate and the colourful sands is a scenic viewpoint over the Chamarel waterfall, which plunges more than 95m in a single drop.

7 Coloured Earth (Terres de 7 Couleurs)
The Chamarel Coloured Earths, 4km southwest of Chamarel, has, for reasons that remain something of a mystery to us, become one of the sights on the island’s usual tourist circuit. Most travellers find it quite underwhelming after a long journey, but if you temper your expectations and approach an excursion here as a quirky side trip, then there’s a greater chance of enjoying the variations of colourful sand – a result of the uneven cooling of molten rock. Tortoises are kept in an enclosure just below the coloured earths, which lie 3km inside the reserve.

Rhumerie de Chamarel
Set among the vast hillside plantations of Chamarel, the Rhumerie de Chamarel is a working distillery that doubles as a museum showcasing the rum-making process. The pet project of the Beachcomber hotel tycoon, the factory opened in 2008 and uses a special ‘ecofriendly’ production method ensuring that all materials are recycled. The rum is quite tasty and makes for a pleasant coda to a guided tour of the plant. It’s best to time your visit with a lunchtime break at the on-site gourmet restaurant, L’Alchimiste.

Île aux Bénitiers
The area’s most notable attraction is the lovely Île aux Bénitiers , which floats just above sea level in the technicolour reef offshore. The islet is considerably larger than many of the other outcrops in the lagoon (keep an eye out for the interesting rocky projection that looks like the top half of an hourglass) and sports a beautiful picnic-worthy beach, a small coconut farm and a colony of migratory birds.
Most of the fishermen docked at La Gaulette offer small excursions to the island. The number of boat operators that visit the island continues to grow each year and most of the products are identical: crowded catamarans and a picnic lunch on the sand

Le Morne Kite Beach
The Le Morne spot is the winner of all spots of Mauritius. Due to the landscape that strongly boosts the prevailing South-Easterly winds in winter.
Check the kite section on the Mauritius page for more spot info.

La Vallée des Couleurs
Despite having 23 colours, as opposed to seven at Chamarel, La Vallée des Couleurs is the less impressive of the island’s two ‘coloured earths’. The reserve does, however, have a scenic nature trail that passes some trickling waterfalls, memorable vistas, crawling tortoises and blossoming tropical flowers. It takes about an hour to complete the reserve’s circuit.

Pointe d’Esny Blue Bay
Mahébourg may be short on sand but Pointe d’Esny and Blue Bay more than make up for it. With one of the most beautiful stretches of beach on the entire island, this area has become one of the favoured spots for private villas and charming chambres d’hôtes . Pointe d’Esny is also the jumping-off point for those interested in visiting the nature reserve on Île aux Aigrettes.

Mahébourg
There is something relentlessly charming about bite-size Mahébourg (my-boor), and it seems to have fooled most Mauritians into believing that it’s the island’s ‘second city’ (it’s not). Although there are stalled plans for a mammoth Caudan-like waterfront complex, for now it’s all about simple pleasures: an interesting museum, a buzzing market, spicy street food, good budget lodgings, a pretty backdrop and beautiful beaches to the north and south. Founded in 1805, the town was named after the famous French governor Mahé de Labourdonnais. The town was once a busy port, but these days it’s something of a backwater, with a small fleet of fishermen and a grid of dilapidated buildings.
You can cover Mahébourg’s smattering of sights in half a day, leaving plenty of time to wander the backstreets and take a stroll along the seafront. Everything can be tackled on foot, though you might want to hire a bike to get out to the biscuit factory.
The most popular activity in the area is an excursion by boat to the offshore islands nearby (Île aux Aigrettes, Île de la Passe, Île aux Vacoas and Île au Phare), or the uberpopular Île aux Cerfs further on. Most of the trips involve snorkelling and include lunch. Scores of boatswains park along the shores of Mahébourg and Blue Bay awaiting customers and offering relatively similar experiences.

Blue Bay Marine Park
In an effort to protect the area’s rich underwater forest of rare corals from encroaching development, the government has given Blue Bay ‘marine park’ status. Besides a mandate barring high-speed watercrafts it seems that conservation plans are a bit laissez-faire and local environmentalists fear that irreversible coral bleaching is inevitable, which is a shame as this is the best snorkelling spot on the island.
There are no ‘official’ tours of the marine park like on Île aux Aigrettes – the protected patches of coral can be easily explored on a snorkelling outing or on an excursion aboard a glass-bottom boat (figure on around Rs 200 per person for one hour).

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.
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 before – everywhere else, the land has been tamed. Many of the animals and plants are unique to the area, like Aldabra giant tortoises, ebony trees, wild orchids and the endangered pink pigeon.

Île des Deux Cocos
Île des Deux Cocos sits at the edge of the azure lagoon and was once used by Sir Hesketh Bell, the flamboyant British governor, to entertain guests. Today, the Lux hotel group has maintained the tradition of entertaining visitors by offering tourists a relaxing day of swimming, beach lazing and snorkelling. Welcome drinks, an immense buffet lunch and rum tasting are also included. Travellers with serious cash to burn can rent out the island’s sole villa (constructed by Bell over a century ago) for an eye-popping €2000 per night, give or take a few hundred depending on the season. Transport to the island can be arranged by any of the Lux hotels.

Souillac
The largest settlement along the south coast is Souillac, 7km from Rivière des Anguilles. The town itself has little to offer, but the clutch of (somewhat) interesting sights beyond just about make it worth a day trip. Souillac is named after the Vicomte de Souillac, the island’s French governor from 1779 to 1787.

La Roche Qui Pleure
(The Crying Rock) Right at the end of the headland after Gris Gris beach, 600m further on and well signposted, La Roche Qui Pleure resembles a crying man – you’ll have to stand there puzzling it out for quite some time, and the waves really have to crash for the ‘tears’ to come out, but it’s oddly satisfying when you finally get it.

Le Souffleur
A hidden attraction known only to locals, requires a bit of gumption (and a 4WD) to tackle. But if you ask anyone in the know, they’ll all say that it’s well worth the adventure.
Situated on the coast about halfway between Souillac and Blue Bay, this geological anomaly is a half-formed grotto on the side of a cliff that spouts a geyser-like fountain of water (up to 20m in the air!) when the seas are rough. As the waves crash against the cliff the seawater pushes through a crack in the bluffs like a blowhole on a whale. If the seas aren’t particularly rough during your visit, there’s a natural land bridge nearby that’s worth a camera click or two. It was formed when the roof collapsed on another naturally formed grotto.
To reach the super-secret souffleur, head for the Savannah sugar estate near the village of L’Escalier, cross the estate, then follow the snaking track once you reach the sea. Even if you don’t seek permission to cross the sugar estate, which you probably should, we highly recommend bringing a local with you – otherwise you may never find the place.

Gris Gris Beach
Head east along the road past the Robert Edward Hart museum and you come to a grassy cliff top, which affords a view of the black rocky coastline and broken reef. A path leads down to the wild and empty Gris Gris beach; a wooden sign warns of the dangers of swimming here. The term gris gris traditionally refers to ‘black magic’, and looking at the tortuous coastline, you can see how the area got its name. Then again, another story suggests that the beach was named after the puppy (!) of a French cartographer who visited in 1753.

Bel Ombre
Despite being miles from the bucket-and-spade atmosphere of Flic en Flac or Grand Baie, Bel Ombre has quickly developed into a cosy tourist bubble along the wild southern shores.
The main attraction in Bel Ombre is the Domaine de Bel Ombre, an open nature reserve set on the old sugar plantation, which was developed by Charles Telfair between 1816 and 1833. Today it’s a multifaceted venture with a brilliant golf course, Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) properties, ruins from a colonial mill and the Valriche Nature Reserve – a haven for quad biking, hiking and touring on 4WDs. (www.domainedebelombre.mu)

Baie du Cap
The coastline between Baie du Cap and the stunning Le Morne Peninsula is some of the most beautiful in the country, and blissfully free of development. The only sights in the area besides the casuarina-lined beaches are a couple of low-key monuments. The first is the Trevassa Monument, about 1km beyond Bel Ombre village, which commemorates the sinking of the British steamer Trevassa in 1923. She went down 2600km off Mauritius. Sixteen survivors were eventually washed ashore at Bel Ombre after surviving 25 days in an open lifeboat.
he second is the Matthew Flinders Monument, which stands on the shore 500m west of Baie du Cap. It was erected in 2003 to honour the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Matthew Flinders, an English navigator and cartographer. He was less warmly received at the time; the poor bloke didn’t know that England and France were at war and he was swiftly imprisoned for six years

Kestrel Valley
The scenic Kestrel Valley is primarily a hunting reserve for Javanese deer. The 950 hectares of forested mountain terrain also act as a reserve for many endemic bird species, including the Mauritius kestrel – one of the world’s rarest birds of prey. A portion of the reserve has been blocked off for hikers – there are four marked trails (from 2km to 6km long) that wind through the park.
The estate was closed for renovations when we visited, including its well-regarded restaurant and thatched bungalows. Call ahead to see if they’ve reopened.

Vallée de Ferney
Vallée de Ferney protects a 400-year-old forest. While that should be reason enough to visit, this is also an important habitat for the endangered Mauritius kestrel, one of the world’s most at-risk raptors. A well-marked 3km trail winds through part of the forest, passing a number of viewpoints en route. We recommend taking the guided tour to make the most of your visit as your guide will point out fascinating flora and fauna that you may otherwise miss. But even if you don’t pay for a guide you’ll need to take the 4WD transfer from the park office to the trailhead – these leave every half hour. 4WD explorations of the reserve are also possible. The walking trail begins and ends at the thatch-roofed restaurant where they serve up locally sourced venison vindaloo or roast venison.
The Ferney Valley is also well known as the site of a recent conservation demonstration that ignited when a Chinese paving company sought to construct a highway directly through the protected hinterland. Attempts at development were unsuccessful but scars remain – trees daubed with red paint alongside the walking trail signify those that were to be chopped down to make way for the road.

Poste de Flacq & Poste Lafayette
Even quieter and more rugged than the sandy streamers of Belle Mare, this calm area bordering the island’s north still has a distinctive Creole vibe and is generally unmarred by upmarket developers. Holidaymakers seeking tranquillity should look no further than the lovely selection of private villas dotting the stone-strewn coast.
With a noticeable lack of resorts, Poste de Flacq is a haven for upscale villa rentals that work out to be a much better deal than many of the luxury hotel packages (especially if you’re travelling with friends and/or family).

Trou d'Eau Douce
‘Sweet water hole’ sits at a set of major crossroads making it the unwitting tourism hub on this side of the island. It’s a lovely little place, if a bit melancholic, where fishermen unravel their nets after a morning at sea and housewives walk around with baskets of vegies balanced on their heads. The sea is a stunning shade of blue here, but Trou d’Eau Douce’s claim to fame is its easy access to the massively popular Île aux Cerfs, a favoured destination for day-tripping tourists. As a result, this seaside township makes a great base for exploring the east coast – especially for those on a tighter budget.
Two of the island’s best golf courses are here – the Touessrok’s fairway masterpiece on Île aux Cerfs and the Ernie Els–designed dreamscape in the Anahita complex.

Île aux Cerfs
Île aux Cerfs’ killer looks have triggered its demise. Once sparsely populated by cerfs (stags; imported for hunting from Java), this picturesque island is now overrun with touts and tourists baking under the tropical sun or lazing in the perfect, gin-clear waters. The obtrusive crowds and general summer-camp vibe may be off-putting at first, but few people realise that the island boasts over 4km of sandy bliss. Hike a mere kilometre down the beach and you’ll uncover an idyllic ocean vista all to yourself.
Much of the island’s interior belongs to the stunningly manicured 18-hole golf course belonging to Le Touessrok – perhaps one of the most scenic spots to tee off in the world. Nonguests are welcome to play, although advance bookings are essential.

Belle Mare Palmar
North of Trou d’Eau Douce as far as Pointe de Flacq, a 10km-long beach includes some of the best white sand and azure ocean in Mauritius. Unsurprisingly, the area is also home to an impregnable string of luxury resorts, although there are stretches of public beach, including around 4km and 8km north of Trou d’Eau Douce.