La Belle Maurice

Things to do

Things to do in Mauritius

What to do in Mauritius: places to visit and outings to book, arranged by kind, from guided hikes to catamaran cruises.

Places to visit

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Geopark

Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth

Chamarel · Black River

Dunes in seven shades, the island’s tallest waterfall seen from two viewpoints, and Aldabra giant tortoises: the Chamarel geopark takes about an hour.

from MUR 800 per person

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Wildlife and leisure park

Casela Nature Parks

Cascavelle · Black River

On the west coast, 350 hectares of savannah and parkland: a safari among giraffes and rhinos, a predator kingdom, aviaries and attractions for children.

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Leisure island

Île aux Cerfs

Trou d’Eau Douce · Flacq

An 87-hectare island off the east coast: white beaches, a turquoise lagoon, restaurants with feet in the sand and a championship golf course. Reached by boat shuttle from Pointe Maurice.

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Sacred Hindu lake

Ganga Talao, Grand Bassin

Grand Bassin · Savanne

A crater lake in the heights of Savanne, a holy place of Mauritian Hinduism, watched over by a thirty-three-metre statue of Shiva.

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Waterfront

Le Caudan Waterfront

Port-Louis

The waterfront of Port Louis: a shopping promenade under coloured umbrellas, restaurants, an arts centre, a cinema and the Blue Penny Museum.

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Market

Port Louis Central Market

Port-Louis

The bazaar of Port Louis: fruit and vegetables under the hall, street food, crafts upstairs. This is where the capital does its shopping.

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Market

Central Flacq Market

Centre de Flacq · Flacq

The largest open-air market in Mauritius, in the east: fresh produce, street food and textiles, best seen on a Wednesday or a Sunday.

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World Heritage Site

Aapravasi Ghat

Port-Louis

On the harbour of Port Louis, the remains of the immigration depot through which more than 462,000 indentured labourers passed. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Art and history museum

Blue Penny Museum

Port-Louis

The art and history museum on Le Caudan Waterfront, home to the Post Office stamps known to collectors the world over.

from MUR 325 per person

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Historic house and estate

Château de Labourdonnais

Mapou · Rivière du Rempart

A great house completed in 1859 at the heart of a 500-hectare estate, in the north: restored rooms, collection orchards and rum tasting.

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Wildlife and conservation park

La Vanille Nature Park

Rivière des Anguilles · Savanne

In a tropical valley in the south, more than a thousand free-roaming Aldabra giant tortoises, crocodiles, lemurs and a fossil museum.

from MUR 950 per person

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Oceanarium

Odysseo Oceanarium

Port-Louis

The oceanarium of Port Louis, at Les Salines: 300 species of the Indian Ocean, from sharks to rays, in an indoor visit open every day.

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Distillery

Rhumerie de Chamarel

Chamarel · Black River

A distillery of pure cane rum in a valley 300 metres up, designed to be visited: copper stills, ageing cellars and a tasting.

from MUR 800 per person

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Museum

L’Aventure du Sucre, with rum tasting

Pamplemousses

Admission ticket to the sugar museum housed in the former Beau Plan sugar factory, in Pamplemousses, rum tasting included.

from €23 per person

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Museum

Mauritius Postal Museum

Port-Louis

In the old General Post Office on the waterfront, a Victorian building completed in 1870, the story of Mauritian mail since the Dutch.

from MUR 225 per person

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Nature reserve

Île aux Aigrettes

Grand Port

A coral islet covered in ebony forest, off the south-east coast, declared a nature reserve in 1965. It is explored on a guided tour, in search of the pink pigeon.

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Marine park

Blue Bay Marine Park

Blue Bay · Grand Port

A protected marine reserve off the south-east coast, known for its coral garden. It is discovered by snorkel or by glass-bottom boat.

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Tea plantation

Bois Chéri, on the Tea Route

Bois Chéri · Savanne

The island’s oldest tea plantation, the middle stop on the Tea Route: a guided walk among the tea bushes, lunch and a tasting.

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Fort and viewpoint

La Citadelle, Fort Adelaide

Port-Louis

The stone fort the British raised from 1830 to 1840 on the hill above Port Louis, and a full panorama over the capital.

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Church

Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice Church, Cap Malheureux

Cap Malheureux · Rivière du Rempart

The little red-roofed church of Cap Malheureux, set before the lagoon and Coin de Mire: one of the most photographed sights on the island.

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Volcanic crater

Trou aux Cerfs

Curepipe · Plaines Wilhems

A dormant crater on the edge of Curepipe, 605 metres above sea level, lined with forest, with a small lake at the bottom and a panorama over the island’s mountains.

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Historic quarter

Chinatown, Port Louis

Port-Louis

Around Royal Road, one of the oldest Chinatowns in Africa: narrow streets, shops handed down the generations, dim sum and murals.

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National museum

Natural History Museum, Port Louis

Port-Louis

The island’s oldest museum, facing the Jardin de la Compagnie: five centuries of Mauritian natural history, and a dodo skeleton whose bones all come from a single bird.

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Racecourse

Champ de Mars

Port-Louis

The racecourse of Port Louis, inaugurated in 1812 at the foot of the hills, and the place where independence was proclaimed in 1968.

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Hindu temple

Maheswarnath Mandir

Triolet · Pamplemousses

In Triolet, the island’s largest Hindu temple, founded in 1888 and dedicated to Shiva: white pillars, floral ornament and coloured sculptures.

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Seashell museum

World of Seashells

Bel Ombre · Savanne

In Bel Ombre, a collection of 8,000 seashells from 1,500 species, the life’s work of a Mauritian collector.

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Glassblowing workshop

The Mauritius Glass Gallery

Phoenix · Plaines Wilhems

In Phoenix, a workshop where wholly recycled glass is blown before visitors’ eyes, and from which one may leave with a cast of one’s own hand.

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Pagoda

Kwan Tee Pagoda

Port-Louis

At Les Salines, a red pagoda built by the Chinese community in 1842, facing the sea with the mountains behind.

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Museum and archaeological site

Frederik Hendrik Museum

Vieux Grand Port · Grand Port

On the south-east coast, the place of the first human settlement in Mauritius: the French ruins raised on the Dutch fort of 1638, and the museum that explains them.

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Writer’s house

Robert Edward Hart Memorial Museum

Souillac · Savanne

In Souillac, facing the sea, the coral bungalow where the Mauritian poet Robert Edward Hart spent his last years, kept as he lived in it.

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Photo shoot

Sunset photo shoot, honeymoon or family

Cap Malheureux · Rivière du Rempart

A photo shoot at sunset, for a honeymoon or with the family, at the northern tip of the island.

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Photo shoot

Photo shoot on Mont Choisy beach

Mont Choisy · Pamplemousses

A photo shoot on Mont Choisy beach, the longest public shoreline in the north of the island.

Guided hike

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Guided hike

Half day at Tamarin Falls

Henrietta · Plaines Wilhems

Half a day at Tamarin Falls, in Black River Gorges National Park.

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Guided hike

Hike on Le Morne Brabant

Le Morne · Black River

The hike on Le Morne Brabant, the mountain on the south-western tip of Mauritius.

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Guided hike

Hike to the Seven Cascades

Henrietta · Plaines Wilhems

The hike to the Seven Cascades, starting from Henrietta.

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Guided hike

Guided hike to Tamarin Falls

Henrietta · Plaines Wilhems

A guided hike to Tamarin Falls, in Black River Gorges National Park.

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Guided hike

Guided hike on Le Morne Brabant

Le Morne · Black River

The climb of Le Morne Brabant with a guide, in the south-west of the island.

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Guided hike

Le Morne Brabant sunrise hike

Le Morne · Black River

Le Morne Brabant climbed as day breaks over the south-western tip of the island.

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Guided hike

Hike on the Brabant, at Le Morne

Le Morne · Black River

A hike on the Brabant, the mountain of Le Morne, on the south-western tip of the island.

Day tour by car

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Day tour by car

South-west circuit

Black River

A sightseeing circuit in the south-west of Mauritius.

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Day tour by car

Tamarin: sunset and tasting

Tamarin · Black River

Sunset at Tamarin, on the west coast, accompanied by a tasting.

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Day tour by car

Tamarin: outing and tasting

Tamarin · Black River

An outing to Tamarin, on the west coast, paired with a tasting.

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Day tour by car

Tour of the south

Savanne

A tour of the south of Mauritius.

Boat trip

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Boat trip

Ferry to Île aux Cerfs

Trou d’Eau Douce · Flacq

The ferry crossing to Île aux Cerfs, off Trou d’Eau Douce.

Private tour

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City tour

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City tour

Luxury beach picnic, by Emmsi

Trou aux Biches · Pamplemousses

A luxury picnic laid out on the beach, on the north-west coast of the island.

Catamaran cruise

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Dolphins and whales

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Dolphins and whales

Whale watching, Flic en Flac

Flic-en-Flac · Black River

A trip out to sea on the west coast, devoted to whale watching.

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Dolphins and whales

Half-day dolphin watching

Grand Baie · Rivière du Rempart

A half day at sea devoted to dolphin watching.

Kayak and paddleboard

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Kayak and paddleboard

Kayaking at Île d’Ambre

Rivière du Rempart

A kayak outing at Île d’Ambre, in the north-east of Mauritius.

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Kayak and paddleboard

Transparent kayak hire, Flic en Flac

Flic-en-Flac · Black River

A clear-hulled kayak for hire at Flic en Flac, to watch the lagoon beneath the paddle.

Private transfer

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Diving and snorkelling

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Diving and snorkelling

Diving on the north coast

Rivière du Rempart

A dive in the waters of the north coast of Mauritius.

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Diving and snorkelling

Exploration dive at Tamarin

Tamarin · Black River

An exploration scuba dive off Tamarin, on the west coast.

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Diving and snorkelling

Scuba diving at Grand Baie

Grand Baie · Rivière du Rempart

A scuba dive in the north of Mauritius, at Grand Baie.

Canyoning and thrills

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Canyoning and thrills

Canyoning at Tamarin Falls

Henrietta · Plaines Wilhems

Tamarin Falls approached by canyoning, which descends part of them.

Quad and off-road

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Adventure park

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Horse riding

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Horse riding

Horse ride on Riambel beach

Riambel · Savanne

A horse ride on Riambel beach, one of the out-of-the-way beaches of the south coast.