INDIAN OCEAN MAURITIUS DESTINATIONS


lopes plunging in to lush green valleys, waterfalls plummeting down jagged rock faces and markets overflowing with local goodies – Mauritius may be best known for its beaches but there’s plenty more to this nature-rich, culture-filled island. And word is catching on: UK arrivals rose 9% year on year in the first quarter of 2018. That’s been helped along by


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a string of hotel refurbishments and increased airlift from the likes of British Airways, which added two weekly flights for the winter season, and easy connections via Amsterdam to the new KLM and Air Mauritius code-share service, which began in October.


With 2018 marking 50


years since Mauritius gained independence, we’ve rounded up some of the best experiences across the island for clients wanting to get to get to know the various cultural threads – Asian, French, British and African – that shape its friendly character.


w NATURAL CHARM Mauritius is chock-full of natural marvels, but cream of the crop has to be the Seven Coloured Earth, a sea of basalt rock formed from frozen lava that looks like a sort of psychedelic marble ocean of waves, flecked with swirls of red, orange, green, yellow, brown and purple. Giant tortoises amble


round an enclosure nearby and tree-carpeted mountains rise in the distance, so it feels like you’re half on Mars, half on Earth. Book a tour to combine it with other southern highlights, including the Chamarel Waterfall – where white water cascades over the cliff from a height of 95m – and Trou aux Cerfs, a dormant volcano that’s now a deep crater covered with trees. Elsewhere in the south you’ll find Black River Gorges National Park, a huge protected rainforest criss-crossed by more than 30 miles of hiking trails and scattered with volcanic peaks, where pink pigeons, macaque monkeys and other rare species


meander. Farther west lies Le Morne, the mountain with a moving history that visitors can ascend.


But perhaps the most unusual


natural feature is Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens in the north. Established in the 18th century by French governor Mahé de Labourdonnais, this colourful display is the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere and features an exotic collection of flora and fauna from across the world, including more than 85 species of palm. The standout feature is a waterlily pond filled with giant, waxy-looking lily pads that seem solid enough to sit on.


31 May 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 49


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