Mauritius attractions

An insider's guide to the best things to do and attractions in Mauritius, including visiting Port Louis, Grand Baie and where to shop. By Nicki Grihault, Telegraph Travel's Mauritius expert.

Mauritius has plenty to see and do, should you want a break from the sun lounger. A number of French colonial houses, several interesting museums and shopping centres around the island provide entertainment if the weather's not great. When it's fine, a famous botanic garden, animal parks and nature walks in eco-adventure playgrounds or the national park beckon. Here's a selection of the best attractions.

Port Louis

Most people come to 'Por Loowee', Mauritius's capital, to shop, although it has several cultural attractions. The Blue Penny Museum is home to the world's first colonial stamp and you can see an ancient dodo skeleton, on the first floor of The Natural History Museum. Get a sense of multi faith Mauritius here by gazing over churches, mosques, and Chinese and Indian temples from the citadel, or join the locals and ex-pats on a late afternoon stroll up Signal Mountain - named after the antennae on top - to see the city at sunset.

Grand Baie 

A fishing village 20 years ago, this sheltered bay bobbing with boats is now the main tourism hub of the island. Nicknamed "Le Trop" for its hot shopping and après-sol entertainment, it has plenty of excursions, attractions and beaches nearby. Kids will love the Aquarium (mauritiusaquarium.com) in the north, with the chance to feed fish and eyeball a shark. 

Learn the island’s history at the interactive museum, L’Aventure du Sucre (aventuredusucre.com) where rum tastings and purchases are possible and whose restaurant Le Fangourin, under a flamboyan tree, makes a good lunch spot. Hire a guide at the entrance to take you around 18th- century Pamplemousses Botanic Gardens (officially known as Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Gardens), 300 yards away, whose centrepiece is a pond of giant Amazon lilies.

Contact: 00 230 243 9403; ssrbg.govmu.org
Pricing: MUR200 (£4.57), children under 5 free
Opening times: 8.30am–5.30pm

Eureka 

This French colonial mansion once owned by the island's biggest sugar baron is a feat of engineering, with 109 doors and a complete wrap around balcony to keep residents cool in the tropical heat. Its turreted rooftop windows look particularly pretty against the backdrop of the Moka Mountains. Take the track from the beautiful garden with ebony and bamboo, to a swimming hole beneath a waterfall, as next door neighbour Pierre Poivre once did.

Address: Moka, West Mauritius
Contact: 00 230 433 8477/2584; maisoneureka.com
Pricing: MUR300 (£6.90), children under 10 free. Prix-fixe Creole lunch served daily for MUR805 (£18.50); advance booking required
Opening times: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 9am–3pm

Casela World of Adventures

The star attraction at this sanctuary for rare birds used to be the pink pigeon, but it's now a walk with lions in the wild in the neighbouring Yemen estate. The savannah-style landscape may have inspired the introduction of over 100 African animals, including zebra and ostrich, hyenas, white rhino and hippopotamus, seen from a mini- safari bus (10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm). The active can still zoom around here on a quad bike, scattering deer in their wake, ride on"the longest zipline in the Indian Ocean", or take a more leisurely pootle around by segway (minimum age 12 years). Casela’s arrivals hall was recently revamped by the artists behind Game of Thrones, and giraffe feeding, camel rides, and encounters with tiger cubs, hippos and rhinos are new activities, along with a 4D cinema, mud karting and a hair-raising canyon swing. It’s easy to spend the day here, and there’s a restaurant on site.

Address: Royal Road, Cascavelle, West Mauritius
Contact: 00 230 4016500; caselapark.com
Prices: MUR775 (£17.60), children 3-12 MUR500 (£11.35) entrance includes a safari, aviaries, toboggan ride, big cat, giraffe and camel viewing, kids petting farm and playground;  zipline MUR1125 (£25.80) (one hour; children must be 6 years and over 1.35m); Lion Encounter MUR3750 (£87); children must be 15 and over 1.5 metres
Opening times: Open daily 9am–5pm. Lion Encounter (Mon-Sat 9am 10.30am, 2pm and 3.30pm)

La Vanille Nature Park

Kids love this animal breeding park sculpted among lush foliage, where they can hold a baby Aldabra tortoise or crocodile, fruit bat or iguana, visit the insectarium and fossil museum, and play on the jungle playground before heading to the Hungry Crocodile restaurant.

Address: Rivière des Anguilles, South Mauritius
Contact: 00 230 626 2503; lavanille-reserve.com
Admission: guided visit MUR490 (£11.25), children 3-12 MUR250 (£5.74) 
Opening times: daily 9.30am–5pm; crocodile feeding, Wednesdays, 11.30am and Saturdays, 11am

Black River Gorges National Park 

There are glimpses of the elegant white Paille-en-queue (straw in the tail) flying over the canopy in these forested hills, criss-crossed with hiking trails. You're more likely, however, to see macaque monkeys cavorting along the railings at Black River Peak viewpoint, with one of the island's best views. An easy two hour walk (9km) on a forest track from Petrin Information Centre will take you to the peak itself - the highest point on the island. 

A 33ft statue of Shiva, to be joined in 2017 by a statue of his wife, as Durga, riding on a lion, [note to ed: Shivas wife Pravati, has nine forms, Durga is one of them] signals the entrance to the crater lake of Grand Bassin, sacred to Mauritian Hindus, if you fancy a look. You can go quad biking, or on buggy trips, take a 4x4 twilight or photo safari or hike to a waterfall in the Frederica Nature Reserve (00 202 6660 4498; fredericanaturereserve.com) at the foot of the national park, the latest eco-adventure park to open. Most people don’t find the island’s geological wonder, the Seven Coloured Earths of Chamarel – dunes of multi-coloured mineral-rich sand –overly impressive, although it’s worth a stop to see Chamarel Falls, tumbling 90-metres over a cliff face. Rum tasting and a gourmet lunch at the Rhumerie de Chamarel (rhumeriedechamarel.com) and family-friendly house of illusion, the Curious Corner of Chamarel (curiouscornerchamarel.com) give more than one reason to visit the highlands.

Domaine de L'Étoile 

This sugar estate turned eco-playground is one of the island's best with quad biking trips, horse riding, mountain biking, Segway and buggy trips on the slopes of the Bambous Mountains where deer roam among ebony and cinnamon trees. Five treks include a 7km botanical route and all activities include an optional authentic Mauritian buffet lunch. There’s also a children's activities village with karting, and 'the longest zipline circuit in the world', a 3.5km course which takes two hours to complete. The pretty thatched main building nestled in the valley was originally built as a film-set for Paul & Virginie (1972), based on the island's most popular legend.

Address: Sevastopol, Southeast Mauritius
Contact: 00 230 5729 1050; terrocean.mu
Admission: Quad biking MUR3,500 (£80.50) single or double quad (one adult, one child 7-12) horse riding MUR2000 (£46); Zipline Circuit MUR2000 (£46); hiking MUR500/1800 (£11.50/£41.40) self-guided/guided; children's activity village MUR650 (£14.95) (3-12); Lunch MUR800 (£18.15)
Opening times: daily 10am-6pm; quad biking/zipline circuit 10am-noon, 1.30pm-3.30pm.

Mahébourg 

Few people make it to the characterful, ancient capital, built on the site where the Dutch first landed in 1598. Soak up a flavour of old Mauritius from the terraces of rustic restaurants on the main drag or stroll along the pink-paved waterfront to the bay where the British battled the French for the island.

Don't miss the National History Museum. Exhibits in this lovely blue and white 18th century colonial building include the bell from the shipwrecked Le Saint-Géran that inspired Mauritius' most famous legend and French governor and city founder Mahé de Labourdonnais’s bed.

Isle aux Aigrettes (Egret Island) 

Thought to be the last resting place of the dodo, this tiny coral outcrop, surrounded by a limpid sea, has giant Aldabra tortoises lumbering under an ebony canopy and pink pigeons living in the semi-wild.

Address: A five-minute boat ride from Sun Jetty, Pointe Jérôme, just below the Preskil Beach Resort, Blue Bay
Contact: 00 230 631 2396; mauritian-wildlife.org
Admission: MUR 800 (£18.15), children 4-12 MUR400 (£9.05)
Opening times: Daily guided ranger tours (1.5–2 hours) every 30 mins from 9.30am–10.30am and 1.30pm–2.30pm. Mornings only on Sunday. Tailormade private tours on request

Shopping

A duty free shopping haven since 2010, shopping centres have sprung up around the island. The Caudan Waterfront (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; caudan.com) in Port Louis harbour remains the best. With 170 boutiques, designer labels and duty-free shops are found alongside craft stalls stuffed with straw baskets, pareos (sarongs) and Indian textiles. Cashmere garments made in Mauritius cost around a third of the price of the UK and linen is also a good buy. Just beware the old scam of taxi drivers getting commission from shops – this isn’t the worst place for it, but be on the safe side and get recommendations from the hotel.

Follow the fragrant aromas around the corner, to Victorian wrought iron gates which lead into the central market or bazar. Its food hall is the best place to try local specialities (Mon–Sat 6am–6pm, Sun 6am–noon). 

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