The Botanic Garden, formally known as Sir Seewoosagur Botanic Garden, is one of the most visited attractions in Mauritius.
National Botanical Garden
The garden is located in the proximity of Port-Louis. The botanical garden was first opened nearly 300 years ago. It is populated with more 650 varieties of plants including the famous Baobabs. There are also 85 different varieties of palm trees brought from different corners of the world. The garden also contains the Palmier Bouteille, the Giant Water Lilies, dozens of medicinal plants, a large spice garden and many more. You also can enjoy the smells of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, camphor, lemon, eucalyptus, sandalwood, and others.
Lilli Pond
There is a 200-year-old Buddha-tree and the crosstree, with leaves shaped like a cross. You can visit the Java Deer reserve and the giant Aldabra tortoise park.
National Botanical Garden
Castle of Mon Plaisir, built by the British in the middle of the 19th century, which is a historical monument, is also found in the gardens.
The garden covers an area of around 25,110 hectares (62,040 acres). Entrance fee to the garden is $8 per adult and children under the age of five are admitted free of charge. Guides are available at the entrance of the garden. A guide will cost 1 euro/hour per person. The payment for the guides is made at the entrance of the botanical garden.
The garden management request the visitors to refrain from feeding the animals both aquatic and terrestrial, plucking flowers, fruits or any other plant, lighting fires, swimming and fishing, throwing coins in ponds or on water lilies, consuming alcoholic drinks and smoke, and climbing on the trees, monuments, buildings and structures.
With the successful vaccination rollout, Mauritius is allowing vaccinated travelers from 1st September 2021 to spend only 7 days in a special ‘resort bubble’ hotel before going out to discover the island. From 1st October 2021 all vaccinated travelers, who present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to embarkation, will be allowed to enter and travel freely.
The Mauritian government vaccinated tourism workers and hotel staff to make it safe for international travelers.
Mauritius is opening
Flights from Europe and the Middle East is currently provided by Air Mauritius, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Kenya Airways and British Airways. At this time of year, visitors will find the perfect climate for enjoying the various outdoor activities Mauritius has to offer, such as hiking, kite surfing, water sports, as well as of course relaxing on the country’s world-renowned beaches.
Paradise island
Mauritius opened for international travel in the middle of July. Vaccinated guests could spend 14 days in a special ‘resort bubble’ hotel before going on to discover more of the Indian Ocean paradise.
Your travel here can satisfy your short break for shopping, partying, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures
Mauritius is typically tropical in the coastal regions with forests in the mountainous areas. Seasonal cyclones, that generally occur between January and March are very destructive to the flora and fauna, although they recover quickly. Warm and humid summer is from November to April. The rest of the year has cooler dry winter.
The central plateau is much cooler than the surrounding coastal areas and receives double the rainfall of the coastal region. The trade winds keep the east side of the island cooler and bring more rain.
Mauritius faces environmental problems in water management, soil erosion, sustainable land use, invasive species, and preservation of its wildlife. The sources of water pollution are sewage and agricultural chemicals. Mauritius cities produce 0.1 million tons of solid waste annually. The erosion of the soil occurs through deforestation.
Oil spill from a Japanese ship
The government is adopting an Integrated Management Approach to Sustainable Environmental Management under the Environment Protection Act of 1991.
Manure heals toxic fields
The overuse of chemical fertilizers to bump up their yields has turned the soil toxic. Farmers in Mauritius use about 50,000 tons of fertilizer each year. The chemicals leach into the island’s underground reservoirs when it rains. These chemicals pollute about 80 percent of water used by locals from these underground sources. Now attempts are being made to use compost instead of chemicals to remove the toxicity from the soil.
The Constitution of Mauritius mentions no official language. It only contains a statement in Article 49 that “The official language of the Assembly shall be English but any member may address the chair in French”. Thus English and French are de facto official languages.
Bilingual street signs
Mauritian Creole is spoken by 86.5% of the people at home. Mauritian Creole is a French-based Creole. Bhojpuri is spoken by 5.3% of the people, while French is spoken by 4.4%. Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly in the Northern-Eastern region of India and the Terai region of Nepal.
Most Mauritians are bi-lingual. Other languages you may hear include Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu, and some varieties of Chinese (predominantly Hakka and Mandarin).
Mauritius PortLouis
Your travel here can satisfy your short break for shopping, partying, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures
The majority of Mauritians are descended from Indians, Chinese, Malay, African and Malagasy and people from other parts of South Asia who were brought in as indentured labor to work in the plantations, while large minorities are also descended from Europeans.
Indian diaspora
The Franco-Mauritian elite not only controlled nearly all of the large sugar estates but was also active in business and banking. When the population of Indian origin increased the political power shifted from the French elite to the Indians.
Democracy in Mauritius
The ethnic groups of Mauritius consisted of Indo-Mauritians (30%), Afro-Mauritians (48%), Sino-Mauritians (26%), and Franco-Mauritians (28%).
Saint Gabriel church is located at the heart of Rodrigues Island and has one of the largest Port Louis diocese congregations. The religious building serves as a cathedral of the Catholic Church’s Apostolic Vicariate of Rodrigues. About 32.7% of the Mauritian population adheres to Christianity and Christian beliefs. Christianity was introduced in Mauritius with the arrival of the Dutch.
Saint Gabriel Church
The parish of Saint Gabriel, the largest in Rodrigues, includes 33 villages. Placed at the heart of this parish territory, the newly renovated cathedral is a place of worship for more than twelve thousand parishioners.
It is also the seat of the bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Rodrigues. Hundreds of people from all parts of the island gather here every Sunday for the Mass.
Hardworking local volunteers hoisted sand, stone and corals from all parts of the island to build this church, which was completed on 10th December 1939.
There are 2,000 feet of stalactites and stalagmites, which decorate the cave of more than 1000 meters long. The cave is located in the village of Petite Butte. The relief and the tints of the vault are the principal charms that fill one with wonder.Usually guides will accompany you with electric torch, as there is no artificial light inside the cave. The last visit is at 3 p.m. It is advisable for you to carry your own torch as well in case you get lost in the trail.
Caverne Patate
The tourists are allowed to go inside the cave on their own, without taking the help of a guide, but a guided tour is recommended if you’re interested in knowing more about the cave and the various formations inside it. Some places in the cave could be slippery and require some tricky maneuvering. This is where the guide can help you to get through the slippery parts. You may want to wear shoes with good grip and take a light jacket.
Caverne Patate
Literally translating to ‘Sweet Potato Cave’, it is now famous as the longest limestone cave not just in Rodrigues, but in the entirety of Mauritius as well. A visit to the Caverne Patate is a visit to a place that is as old as time itself.
Rodrigues island is home to quite a few caves and caverns which were used in the ancient times by pirates to hoard their treasure.
You need a permit issued by your hotel in Rodrigues or by the “Terres” office in Port-Mathurin to access the cave. As for the natural site, it is accessible 4 times a day: 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Helmets are mandatory during the visit. Torches are also supplied with helmets at the entrance.
