Mauritius

I’m going to tell you a little more about this amazing place and really get under the surface of it to share with you what it’s really like.

If you want to can come to Mauritius and lay on a beach or around a pool, do nothing else, and have a fantastic holiday, There are some super luxurious beach resorts if that’s your thing. You will be very well looked after. However, it’s a long way to come and you’d be missing out. This island is so diverse and has such a rich cultural history and it would be a real shame if you came all this way and did not learn about its history, its people, and explore some of its most fantastic and jaw droppingly beautiful sights.

It’s best suited to those who like to explore, want to get away from it all, reconnect with nature and themselves, and appreciate a different culture. Everything happens in Mauritian time………………which is whenever they feel like doing it! If you travel abroad and like to see the bacon and eggs at breakfast, the fries with your dinner and the bottles of ketchup lined up on the side……………….don’t come. You are going to have to be Mauritian for the duration of your visit…………………….and believe me………………..it’s a beautiful thing to be!

It’s a long way for most people…………………1,100 miles off the south east coast of Africa. It’s known locally as Ille de Maurice and is the largest island of the Republic of Mauritius, which also includes the nearby islands of Rodrigues, Agalega, St Brandon and the Chagos Islands.

No-one has the difinitive as to who got here first, but we know for definite that the Dutch landed here by boat in 1598 and claimed it. They did try to settle here, exporting the ebony and sugar cane using Malagasey slaves, but were ultimately unsuccessful, and the island became French in 1715. It became British in 1810 under the Treaty of Paris and was the British Empire’s main sugar producing colony.

All except the Chagos Islands were granted independence from the British Empire in 1968. However it was a friendly change in constitution with Mauritius maintaining Elizabeth II as their queen until they became a republic in 1992. Even now they maintain the British legal system, political structure and education system. They have free healthcare and free education for all. They also drive on the left which is really handy if you are from the UK and hiring a car like I did. The UK handed the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius in 2025.

Mauritius is a wealthy economy and is ranked as having one of the most competitive and developed economies in Africa. They are ranked as the most peaceful nation in Africa. They also have one of the best ratings in the world for air quality.

So, a little about the people…………………….I can only describe them as beautiful! Not beautiful as in glamorous……………….but beautiful in a gentle, kind, respectful, peaceful and really welcoming sort of way. They will treat you like family, and even after all these years they have a soft spot for the British, although from what I could see they welcome everyone. If you go from the UK they will want to know what is your favourite football team (they are obsessed with football and you get extra brownie points if you live near Manchester as I do 😆). They will also spend hours talking to you about British pop music.

They are a perfect example of how a nation can be made up of people from different cultures and religions and get along most of the time. Most of the population is made up of the descendants of indentured sugar cane labourers following the abolition of slavery (more on that in a minute). They came from India, China and Africa. As a result the current population is 67% Indian, 28% African Creole, followed by Chinese, French and British. In terms of religion 47.9% are Hindu, 32.3% Christian, 18.2% Islam and the remainder a mix of other religions. The official language is English and almost everyone will be able to speak it. However, the mother tongue and languages spoken at home are 90% Mauritian Creole, 5.1% Bhojpuri, 4.4% French and 0.6% English.

In terms of weather they only have two seasons………………..too hot and really unbearably hot!😂 Which they call Winter and Summer. Winter is May to October and Summer is November to April. January, February and March are the wettest months in the middle of summer, and the island regularly experiences cyclones during this period. I chose to come in April as it’s the end of summer so not quite as hot………….it was around 30 degrees most of the time………………….but the real rainy season is over. Autumn would also be a good time to visit. However, the climate is tropical and no matter when you come you will get some fantastic storms and rain…………….that’s why it’s so green and beautiful. They are short lived storms………………around 10 to 30 minutes ……….. but great to watch.

As a result of their climate most crops do not survive, therefore they are a mass importer of most things. They have lots of tea, coffee, sugar cane, fruit and fish………………..everything else is shipped in from a long long way away. As a result, they are very resourceful and respectful of their environment. They are huge recyclers, and use water and energy very sparingly. There are numerous initiatives to reduce emissions and I don’t think I’ve been to a place with as many reserves and areas of preservation where they are making their best efforts to protect their flora, fauna and endemic species. The island and its surrounding reefs are home to some of the world’s rarest plants and animals. The symbol of the island, which they all but worship, is the Dodo……………….the flightless bird, endemic to the island which became extinct in 1662, and really became the symbol of extinction. The Mauritians more than anyone understand the huge price that is paid by not looking after what you have.

So that’s a little potted history. Now onto where to stay and what to do if you like a good explore and want to see a little bit of everything.

I stayed at Lakaz Chamarel Exclusive Lodge. The website says, “Beyond the beaches and sea, imagine a magical place in the midst of nature. Nestled in the heart of the Black River Gorges, Lakaz Chamarel Exclusive Lodge offers a serene haven in an enchanting landscape. Here, every breath reveals nature’s profound beauty, and each corner unveils its secrets. ​Taste, the richness of authentic Mauritian flavours. Discover, tranquillity in untouched landscapes. Savour, moments of bliss in secluded elegance.”

I’m not going to try and rewrite that because it sums it up perfectly really. You can’t get there with a package tour operator, you’ll need to book direct with the Lodge and sort your flights, it’s not a package holiday sort of place. Some of the tailor made operators can arrange for you to come here but you will pay a very large premium for them to organise it and it’s not that hard to book a flight, accommodation and a car yourself!

It’s in the forest canopy, near the small village of Chamarel, a very rural village of around 700 inhabitants, mainly African Creole. It is on the edge of the Black River Gorges National Park and close to some of the most spectacular geographical sites on the island. It is around a 10 minute drive to the sea.

If you like plants, flowers, birds and endemic wildlife there is absolutely no better place to be. It’s not cheap and the majority of the visitors seemed to spend just a couple of days here as a treat at the end of a touring holiday around the Indian Ocean.. I’d been squirrelling my pennies away for quite a while and working really hard and spent my full 10 days here………………..it was the right choice. And it is doable as they have various accomodation options………………….and here’s my budget room tip! I stayed in the Zen Suite. It’s one of 4 suites that share the Grand Piscine……………a very large and beautiful swimming pool. It was one step up from the basic rooms, which share a small pool and are next to the reception and restaurant/bar………so not as peaceful.

The Suite was basic from the outside…………………concrete walls (to withstand cyclones) and wood metal and reed roofs.

Although there were 4 suites, they are cabins in the garden and you can’t see the others if you look out. There are 20 rooms of varying grades all around the 12 hectares site of tropical forest. The suite was a little bungalow and it was really private. Because there is so much to see the chances of you being at the pool at the same time as the guests in the other 3 suites is slim. Every time I went for a swim, which was often, I had the entire Grand Piscine to myself. And there is a sun lounger per guest …………………………… so there’s no towels on sunbeds at dawn. 🤣 The most hated part of any holiday for me……………….a sure sign the Brits are in town (although the Germans give us god competition in this area and could be slightly better at it). I will positively avoid any hotel where I have to fight for a sunbed!

Then there are 12 more suites around the site which each have their very own pool. Some have outstanding views over the ocean. The downside of these for me are that the pool is very small. It’s more of a cooling off and having a dip sort of pool and I like to get a few lengths swum. The other downside of these is that they are significantly more expensive. Like…………really expensive……I can see why some people only stay for 2 days, my budget wouldn’t have stretched for much more than 2. However, I wanted to stay here for all 10 nights and did not fancy selling one of my vital organs. So my budget limit was a suite with a shared pool but overall I would say this option offers the best value for money and I was happy with my choice. This was a wellbeing holiday for me…………………..sort of like a retreat, I spent a lot of time relaxing and being still and my suite was perfect because I like plain and simple, nothing too elaborate.

Inside, the suite was painted white to keep it cool. The very comfy bed had a mosquito net around it as, given the climate, the mosquitos were in abundance. They love nothing better than a pale skinned, red haired European. Jungle Formula Deet repellent was applied every day but it did not seem to put them off……………………with my left leg appearing to be far tastier than my right. Insect repellent is an absolute must! I seemed to do a little bit better, when after using two bottles of the stuff I’d brought from home, I bought a third from the Lodge reception. They did not like that as much and I’m wondering whether in future buying local repellent is the best plan of action as it seems to be formulated for the area.

There is air conditioning if you want it, but you pay extra and it will be turned off when you arrive. The Mauritians are very environmentally aware and this is an eco retreat so whilst they are happy for you to have it and pay for it for your comfort, their general ethos is not to use aircon on the island. Being environmentally aware I did not use mine. It’s not expensive, around 5 euros a day, but with the windows open and a breeze blowing gently through the windows at night it wasn’t necessary and I was safe from mosquitos in my net.

The staff will come and service your room in the morning and then again in the evening. They will leave you fresh water both times, change your towels in the morning if you want them changing. In the evening they close your windows and open your shutters, unwrap your mosquito net for your bed, put your reading lights on and leave you the message of the day on your pillow………………..how sweet is that.

Something you need to be aware of if you come here is that the bathrooms are outside! And I mean completely open air! Seriously, it’s the way to go in a hot country…………………..I loved it. It’s like a small garden at the back of the bungalow surrounded on all sides by a tall wall so no-one can see in. There is a bath under a corrugated roof if it’s really raining heavily, or there is an open air shower. Two discoveries………………..firstly, I love getting in the shower in the rain. Secondly, there is something quite liberating and beautiful standing in the dark, in the garden, completely naked, watching the milky way while you have a shower, with the breeze blowing on your butt cheeks! You feel so alive afterwards!

And this little guy took a shower with me every night. He lived just behind the soap dish. But once I started crashing around he came out and sat on the wall and just stared at me until I’d finished, then trotted back behind the soap dish…………how cute. He’s a green gecko.

Ultimately, the place sells itself as a wellness retreat and if there was not so much to see on the island I could have stayed here for all 10 days just being still.

There are hectares of lovely tropical forest to wander around and the beautiful pool to swim in.

There are regular yoga sessions and the site has its own yoga pavilion, overlooking the mountains, with a full size labyrinth in front of it. I went to three of the yoga sessions and they were excellent. They had no problem me borrowing some equipment for the duration of my stay so I could do my daily practice on my veranda.

There is an on site spa. There are little flower adorned stone buddhas to welcome you up the path to the massage cabin, which is a little hut on stilts. I had a full body massage focussing on my back, neck and shoulders with Jojoba oil and Sandalwood. It was excellent, and not overpriced. There is also a sauna but I can’t give my verdict on that, I didn’t use it, I was hot enough!

Each night there are fire pits lit around the site. They are not to keep you warm………………..they are a symbolic Buddhist ritual. Fire is seen not only as a symbol of suffering, but also transformative, and various rituals can be performed around the fire pit. They are often used to make offerings, to represent the burning of attachments and things you simply want to let go of. Write them down on a piece of paper and throw them in the fire, or throw something that represents the negative energy into the fire and let it go! That’s the idea behind it anyway.

The food at the lodges is excellent. It’s a buffet breakfast with a wide selection available and some really nice fresh local fruits like papaya and mango. They make the most gorgeous homemade fermented yoghurt and there are plenty of cereals and breads and preserves. There are pancakes too! Dinner is a sit down service, not buffet. The focus is on quality and local produce, not quantity, which is nice as you don’t have that horrible stuffed over full feeling afterwards. There is an Amuse Bouche followed by three courses. There were three choices for each course and the menu was different on each of the 10 days. I loved the food. There was always a creole curry type dish, a meat, fish and a vegetarian choice. The desserts were gorgeous and made the most of the local fruit. Highlights for me, that I can’t get at home, were smoked blue marlin tartare, and a delicious dessert with passion fruit.

If you fancy a tipple they do the most amazing cocktails up at The View bar. It overlooks the ocean and faces west so the sunsets here are spectacular.

Onsite wildlife is amazing. The birds are spectacular. Bright red and yellow birds…………..beautiful. My favourite though was the Bulbul……………..just because he was so naughty and mischievous. I left the breakfast table for one minute to get a coffee top up, came back……………………..and there it was in my dish! 🤣

There are flying foxes, also know as fruit bats. There are hundreds of them and they fly around the forest canopy at night. They are really lovely to watch and make such a lot of noise when they start arguing over a mango! I loved these once I’d got used to them. My first sighting though was when I was in the shower in the dusk on the first night. It scared me to death because they have a wing span of up to 1 metre, squawk, fly really close to you and look like a Tetradactyl! I let out the biggest, unnecessary, cry for help, until it was explained to me what it was.

So then, what to see and where to go in Mauritius.

First stop Chamarel Waterfall……………………….you have to come here, you are so close to it. This is in the Black River Gorges National Park and at 100m is Mauritius’ largest single drop waterfall. It’s quite spectacular.

Next to the waterfall is the 7 Coloured Earth Geopark. It’s a bit touristy but a must see. It is a geological formation containing sand of 7 different colours (red, brown, violet green, blue, yellow and purple). It is formed by a decomposition of volcanic rock. The colours come from the soil, iron and aluminium and the seven different shades are thought to be formed as a result of the volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures.

While there you can purchase a 7 Coloured Earth ice lolly made with tropical fruit! Possibly one of the nicest ice lollies I have had!

But don’t forget to try the sugarcane juice. In moderation it’s very good for you………………..instant energy and dense in calcium, pottasium and iron. It aids hydration, liver health and immunity. Try and buy it fresh from a local. This young lad and his friend (Liverpool FC’s greatest fan) were stood under their brolly in the scorching humidity with an ancient looking sugar cane press, metal jug, a seive and a mountain of raw sugar cane. Try and support local if you go, cut out the middle man…………………you’ll not get much fresher than this. You will see islanders all over the island with their little roadside stalls set up, selling what they have grown or made.

Next stop was the Ebony Forest and the Ebony Experience. Hardly anyone here, but I enjoyed it. It is home to a small interactive museum which recreates Mauritius before humans arrived. The island was created by volcanic eruptions where unique animals and plants once lived, until human actions ultimately destroyed a lot of it. Here at the Ebony Forest they are working hard to restore that lost world.

Here you will find a forest of ebony, a highly valuable wood, particularly prized for musical instruments in the manufacture of piano keys and guitar frets. It grows very slowly and has been over exploited but here there is a whole forest of it, all protected.

Various rare, and not so rare, endemic animals have also made this their home. The reserve is home to the protected Pink Pigeon, so scarce I could not find it! I did however see beautiful butterflies, giant tortoises and lots of flycatchers. It’s definitely a good place to visit to find out about the nature on the island, its past exploitation and the efforts being made to restore and protect it now.

But did you know that seeing a butterfly with a broken wing has great spiritual and symbolic meaning. It signifies resilience, strength, and the ability to overcome the challenges in life and continue life despite being “broken” or damaged. So I’m hoping that this was my omen from above for next weekend’s ultra…………………..the strength and ability to continue despite being “broken”. 🤣

The following day I decided to visit the rum distillery of Chamarel. Rum is a big business in Mauritius, and the island produces a large quantity of really high quality premium rum, both traditional molasses style dark rum, and also white rum made from pure sugar cane juice. The latter is the base spirit of the mojito, which is probably why they taste so good here!

You can walk here from the lodge………………….and you do either need to walk or get a taxi as you are going to try 10 rums at the end of your tour……………and they are quite generous with the shots! 🥴

It’s good to come here just to look around the factory and the gorgeous gardens. There are little stone Buddha’s, Hindu flower offerings, lovely flowers and tinkling water everywhere. They also have a really nice restaurant here. I just had a coffee but the food did look delicious.

You start with a little bit of the history of the distillery, then you look at the factory and production process and the differences in the distillation and storage which distinguishes a normal rum from a really premium quality rum.

Then the good bit………………….you get to try them. And there are lots to try. I have to admit, the flavoured ones went down better than the unflavoured. I like my rum in a mojito. I don’t really like neat spirits……………….I’m not a fan of neat whiskey or brandy either. And I’ve decided I’m not a fan of neat rum either. However I did excel…………………..I got all ten down and still managed to walk myself safely back to the lodge for my rather long afternoon nap!

The following day was a road trip day. Around an hour north to the capital of Port Louis and the area of Pamplemousses, a predominantly Indian area where the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden is situated. This is the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere and was first constructed by Pierre Poivre. He was an horticulturist and botanist who introduced various spices from Asia to Mauritius to make them a valuable asset for cultivation, one of these spices being vanilla.

The garden is famous for its ponds of giant waterlilies.

There are a number of plants and trees in the gardens planted by foreign royalty and world leaders.

It is also the site of the cremation, and final resting place, of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR), the first Prime Minister of Mauritius, known as the “Father of the Nation” and there are various monuments in his memory scattered around the gardens.

In the grounds you will also find the Château Mon Plaisir, a charming colonial style chateau whose site once housed the French Governor.

It’s a lovely place to have a quiet wander around, and a complete contrast to where we are going next……………….Port Louis……………….the capital.

I’ve never been anywhere like this in my life………………………..and I loved the experience. I mean, really loved it. It is complete and utter, unfiltered chaos!!! I love a city, but at the end of the day I also love leaving it. For a sensitive little soul like me this place was far too overstimulating. People all crushed together, animals everywhere, particularly dogs, car horns beeping, people whizzing around on bikes, old 1960’s British buses everywhere packed with hot sweaty people all crammed in to the door, music blaring, people arguing and bargaining in the market, hawkers and sellers everywhere. The sites, the smells, the noise………………………..after five hours I felt like I’d been inside a washing machine drum on the fast spin programme. Don’t get me wrong……………there is that smell of cannabis mingled in the air with the smell of spices and it is clear here there is a poverty issue and an urban planning issue which the Government are trying constantly to address. However, I felt safe. They do have a pickpocketing problem, like in most cities, but be sensible and you will be fine. There is no major crime, just the odd underlying ethnic tensions sometimes bubbling when you get a multicultural society like this. A lot of reviews on Mauritius will tell you not to come here…………………but if you want to discover the true culture and heart of Mauritius then you must come.

When travelling I always use the Lonely Planet guides as they tend to get under the skin of a place and take you to the sites less travelled so you can really discover a place. Not like some guides which only give you the key tourist crammed areas with the glossy colour pictures. Lonely Planet guide to Mauritius has a large chapter on Port Louis. It has in it a self guided walk around the street art of the city so I decided to do that. I would recommend it as it takes you through the busiest parts of the city, past the market, the main Hindu temple, and in the process you’ll see some pretty great art.

When you pass the market it looks a little intimidating as everyone seems to be arguing, over the price I guess, but have a look. You will be knocked sideways by the smell and I certainly wouldn’t recommend you buy and eat anything of the fish or meat genre in here. The smell is horrendous. Nothing is in a fridge, just laid out on tables and the heat and humidity is stifling. I guess their stomach’s are trained for it. But it’s worth a look, particularly at the strange and unusual fruit and vegetables that they have here, all displayed in a multitude of colours.

Also in Port Louis is Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is what I had come to see here and it’s here that you will discover the founding history of Mauritius and its people. It is free to get in, which always comes as a surprise to me as that’s unusual at home. And even though it’s free there will be hardly any people here, and it’s such a shame as they have spent a fortune on converting this old immigration depot in the port into a living and breathing interactive modern museum. I think people either skip Port Louis or they are really just not that interested in the history.

The museum was the former depot which processed the indentured labour when it arrived on the island. Mauritius is an island made up of immigrants, and now their descendants, who the Dutch, French and British brought to the island to work the sugar cane plantations. When slavery was abolished the British had a problem here in Mauritius. They had no labour for the sugar cane plantations. So slave owners like John Gladstone who owned a number of plantations and slave workers in Jamaica, were creative and invented this idea of ‘indentured labour’. 

You can call it what you want, and have your own opinion, but for me, having visited this place, it was slavery in disguise. The difference is that slavery is a permanent involuntary state. Indentured labour was a temporary and voluntary state. But other than that it’s the same. Indentured labour is a little bit like bribery. You have absolutely nothing, you need to provide for your family, someone comes along and says sign this contract and in return you have to work for me for 7 years, after which you and your family will get free passage to a British Colony as a free man. So you’ve volunteered, you’ve signed a contract but basically for 7 years your living conditions and treatment will be very similar to that of a slave.

But the museum is really informative and you will see why the population is made up of the ethnic groups it consists of. The majority of the labour came from India, then China, South East Asia and Africa. The current population, being descendants of this labour, mirror this demographic.

After all this wandering around you’ll need a break. If you go to the waterfront you will see the Government’s attempt at revamping Port Louis. It has a boat Marina, lots of waterfront café bars and new gleaming office blocks…………………and the ‘Artisan Gelato’ ice cream shop. Berry sorbet and chocolate was the choice. It’s nice and quiet and peaceful here, and a complete juxtaposition to the chaos across the main road. A good place to come if you need to step out of it for a minute.

The following day I had a bit of a relax and reset after the stimulation of Port Louis. I started with my hour of morning yoga, listening to the birds.

A little wander around the labyrinth and then I went for my massage.

It was gorgeous and despite being the tiniest little lady, she was VERY strong, and I like a really firm deep tissue massage so it was good.

Then I sat and relaxed with my book and ordered a Mauritian coffee which I had been told to try. It was lovely but it was not as I expected and you only need one. I would describe it more as a dark molasses rum with a hint of coffee 🤣 I thought I was ordering a coffee and it came like this.

I was fooled into thinking the coffee was the brown stuff at the bottom. The coffee may be in there but is mainly mixed into the cream at the top. I would estimate that half of the brown liquid in the bottom is neat molasses rum. However, I’m not complaining……………..it was very nice. So after yoga, a massage, a read and rum I needed a nap.

After my nap I thought I’d better shake a leg and wake myself up a bit. I was hungry and asked if there was anywhere in the village where I could get a bite to eat for lunch if I took a hotel bike to explore the village of Chamarel. Incidentally, the bikes and helmets are free of charge, you can just take them when you want. The hotel recommended a place called Restaurant de Barbizon. So I hopped onto my bike and off I went.

I rode through the village and first of all I had a look at the little blue roofed church in the village. A very simple church with a plain interior but quite obviously very well attended and cared for. The trees around the church are full of mangoes and Macaque monkeys, but there’s absolutely no chance of taking their picture, as soon as they see or hear you they are straight up into the tree canopy, and they are so fast.

Then I spotted a sign to the ‘Grotto’ so thought I’d have a little peep. It’s along a little path at the rear of the church. Cut out into the rock is a shrine to the Virgin Mary. She is obviously very well visited as the base is covered in candle wax and there were a few lit candles in place already. But goodness, she’s creepy! It’s the eyes!

Chamarel, being a Creole area is predominantly Christian so other than the church and the church school there’s not much here other than residential houses, concrete with little tin roofs, and a couple of bars and a bus stop. So I peddled my way back to the bus stop. I felt like a local celebrity! I was obviously a bit of a novelty, the very white lady with the freckles and red hair, wearing a beach dress and shades and zipping around the village. People shout and wave at you in a very friendly manner and children either want to high five you or they just stare in bewilderment as if you are an alien from the moon that has just landed.

I got to the restauarent and I have to say from the outside it doesn’t look all that inviting. It’s a concrete, brick and metal building, painted a rusty red colour, with a tin roof, reggae blaring from the kitchen and lots of dogs rolling around in the dusty car park. I propped the bike against the tree and went in and asked if they were serving lunch. With a huge smile the elderly man who owns the place ushered me to a table, and came back with a cool drink with ice in. He explained there was no menu, it’s Creole food, and he’ll just bring it out.

I noticed the place was full of local Creole people, lots of atmosphere, lots of food, lots of smiley happy faces and the most delicious smell coming from the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later he appeared from the kitchen and in broken English said to me “Fried local fish catch this morning, eggplant, rice, lentil, sweet potato, picked vegetable salad and chicken in Creole sauce……………………………lady eat it all or pay double and wash dishes!”🤣🤣

OMG! There was enough food for five people. He kept coming to check I was OK, wanting to make sure I liked my food as I slowly worked my way through it. I was well and truly defeated by the rice but I managed the chicken, the eggplants a piece of fish, some of each accompaniment and a spoonful of rice. 800 Mauritian Rupees (around 15 Euros) later and I was doing my best to ride my bike back to the hotel, without being made to wash the dishes……………….and I think at that price I wasn’t charged double either!

So if ever in Chamarel and hungry do go! Don’t be put off by the outside, the lovely charming welcome, the delicious food, and it’s obvious popularity with the locals prove that sometimes you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, as they say.

The following day I thought I’d have a little drive up the road to Chamarel coffee plantation because I’d seen a sign for guided tours when I had passed earlier in the week……………………and also because I love coffee!

They are the island’s only coffee plantation and producer, and produce around 35,000kg of coffee cherries per year. They export small amounts to France and the Seychelles, but at the moment the rest is all consumed on the island.

The ‘Bean to Cup’ tour is really informative. You start at the side of the old coffee roaster and set off on a guided walk around the plantation.

The majority of the production is Arabica beans, but they do grow a smaller quantity of Liberica. As you wander through the plantation you can see the bright green coffee cherries on the coffee plants. The beans are actually the seeds in each cherry, which are extracted when they become ripe and are picked. There are two beans in each cherry, nestled together, flat side together.

The plantation is also home to lots of bananas, some cacao and vanilla which grows in abundance and commands a high price. Our guide, the local legend ‘Fat Boy Slim’ (as he said his name was 😆) was really informative. He made it lots of fun.

He also pointed out some of the beautiful flora and fauna which thrive amongst the coffee plants. Finally we looked at the end process where the beans are washed, graded and roasted.

Then the interesting part……………we got to do coffee tasting and were taught how to do it properly. We had two cups with ground beans in the bottom. One 100% top quality Arabica and one something else…………….but you don’t know which is which. First comes the dry nose test. You have a deep and quick sniff of the beans and write down the first thing that comes into your mind. For me the first was smoke and the second was chocolate.

Then the wet nose test. Just boiled water is poured over the beans and they are left for a few minutes to infuse, after which the beans sink back to the bottom of the glass. You break the surface with the back of a spoon and sniff sharply, again writing your observations and any change noted from the dry nose test. Finally you move onto the slurp test. Now in the UK slurping is considered rude and bad manners but here you can slurp to your hearts content! You rank the coffee from 1 to 5 for Attack, Mouthfeel and Aftertaste. Attack is the immediate intensity and impact. Mouthfeel is the weight and viscosity……………..is it thick and creamy, thin and watery, dry, astringent, smooth etc. The final test is aftertaste …………………….. does it disappear quickly or have a long aftertaste and is it sweet and chocolatey, fruity or bitter.

It was a really interesting visit and you do really appreciate the hard work and dedication that goes into producing a great cup of coffee from bean to cup.

The next day I was feeling adventurous and energetic. It must have been all the caffeine! It was definitely a mountain climbing day. Le Morne mountain is a mountainous peninsular just below Chamarel which can be seen for miles around. It is 556 metres high. In 2008 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List because it has quite a sad history. At its base on the La Gaulette side of the mountain is quite a sad memorial to commemorate the abolition of slavery and the remember all the slaves who died on the mountain.

Quite often slaves escaped and the thick forest on the steep sides of Le Morne mountain was their hiding place. On the 1st February 1835 police were despatched to the mountain to round up the slaves and inform them they were now free when the Abolition of Slavery Act was passed. Legend has it that they misinterpreted the arrival of the police and thought they had arrived to round them up and return them to slavery, leading hundreds of them to leap to their death from the mountain into the Ocean rather than be returned into a life of slavery. On 1st February annually a large number of Mauritian Creoles frequent the mountain to remember this event and celebrate their freedom.

It’s a nice steady and long climb up to the top. Some parts are rocky, steep and dense with bushes but it isn’t a difficult hike if you take it steady, I would say it is within most people’s capabilities.

The views from the top of the mountain are quite spectacular, bright azure blue and green as far as the eye can see. It’s definitely worth the trek. You need to take lots of water though, it’s really hot up there.

The good news is that at the bottom of the mountain is Le Morne beach, one of the best on the island. It truly is a gorgeous beach, so take your swimwear because it’s to prefect place to cool off when you get to the bottom of the mountain. It’s really quite quiet too. I found the area in front of the Lux Le Morne resort to have the best sand and easiest access to the water without too much sharp coral.

I’d recommend beach shoes if you come here as there is a lot of coral and it can be really sharp. There are also lots of sea urchins and although not common, there are Stone Fish which are really venomous, their sting requiring immediate medical attention, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. There are some lovely hammocks to lie in in the sea and after a lie in one of those, and a few hours of reading and snorkelling I was feeling refreshed. Those hammocks are fantastic………….you swish backwards and forwards with the waves, however, I just cannot work out how to do an elegant dismount. I cannot do anything other than a forward flop and face plant into the sand. I’m sure there’s a technique that I’m clearly lacking.

The evening was spent in the ‘View Bar’. I loved it up here. It’s right on the edge of the hotel grounds, on the top of the hill, overlooking the sea and the mountains. The sunset from up here is fantastic.

I liked to walk up here and watch the fruit bats in the trees, but the hill is quite steep so they do have golf carts whizzing about to take you up there if you don’t like walking. It’s only open from 4:30pm to 7:30pm when dinner starts. The idea is to come up here for a pre-dinner drink and watch the sunset and then go for your dinner. I’m not a big drinker when I’m at home but when I’m on holiday I do like a little cocktail and make it my mission to work through the cocktail menu, a cocktail a day.

The cocktails up here are seriously good. So which were my favourites. Top of the list has to be the passionfruit mojito.

The pina coladas were also very good.

The Makak Spritz refreshed me after my bike ride when I thought I’d deserved a cocktail before pre-dinner cocktails……..at 2pm. 😆 This was nice and refreshing…..elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, sparkling water and fresh mint.

And finally the Martinez………………Pierre Poivre gin, Martini Rosso and Maraschino Cherry. Very nice but a little small this one so you might need more than one. 😆

Another thing I liked doing was lying outside at night watching the milky way, sometimes the best things in life are free. It’s so dark there, so you get none of the light pollution that you get at home. There are so many star in that sky, I could have stayed there for hours just watching, whilst listening to and watching the swooping of the bats as they argued amongst each other in the trees.

The following day was my final day of adventures and I decided to drive to and visit Tamarind falls which are near to the village of the same name. This is a cascade of seven waterfalls which come tumbling through the forest. If you just want to take a picture of them there is a viewpoint from the village above.

You can walk down to them and that’s what I wanted to do. However, it’s not an easy track like Le Morne mountain. It’s a bit of a scramble down the side of a forested ravine. There are lots of tree roots to trip over, but lots of branches to hang onto to help you get down to the falls.

Once in the bottom you can walk along the falls, skirting around and into the forest to get down to each one. They are pretty spectacular up close.

The top fall is particularly good as you walk behind the fall.

Don’t forget to take your swimwear too as at the base of each fall is a pool and you can swim in most of them. You really do need your mosquito repellent here though. The combination of the water, forest and the humidity makes it their favourite environment and even with repellent on I was eaten alive.

All too soon my little adventure to the other side of the world had come to an end. Time to say goodbye to Lakaz Chamarel Lodge. Just two more places left to visit which I had saved to my last day as my flight was not until 10pm at night.

First stop Bois Cheri Tea Plantation. Being British I love a good cup of tea………………..it is my belief that there is no finer brew than Yorkshire Tea, and I have yet to be proved otherwise. However, I’ve always been intrigued as to the process so I thought I’d come along and have a look. Here they make black tea, green tea and herbal teas.

The plantation dates right back to 1892 and is the largest producer on the island. However, they export very little of their tea, less than 20%, as the Mauritians are also very big tea drinkers………………..Vanilla Tea is the island drink.

You start your visit down near the factory where you are handed your hi-vis vest. First stop is an interactive museum. It’s very interesting, all about the East India Tea company, the British involvement and the Cutty Sark tea clipper boat and the full history of tea. There’s also lots of information about its medicinal properties.

After the museum the tour continues through the factory. I really enjoyed this bit. It was so noisy and hot in there but you get to see the process in full. The arrival of the picked leaves in the sacks and baskets from the field. Then you see the leaves all laid out to dry. Then there is the processing of the leaves……………..withering, rolling, oxidisation and drying. Then it is all chopped and graded.

At that point any flavors are added if it’s going to be anything other than plain tea. It is then either boxed loose or goes for packaging into tea bags and boxing. Other than the very fancy German machine which puts the tea in tea bags, the rest of the equipment and machinery really did look like it had originated from 1892 and the Industrial Revolution.

The final part of the visit is where you go up to the plantation house and do the tea tasting. The plantation house is in a lovely setting, surrounded by the plantation and with views over the whole of the south coast of the island.

There are lots of teas to try. Green teas, black teas and herbal teas. There is an unlimited supply of freshly boiled water and you even get some little coconut and vanilla cookies. It was very nice, particularly the coconut, which is a black tea with a little hint of natural coconut extract. I brought a box of that back home and am enjoying it very much. Is it as good as Yorkshire Tea? Of course not! 🤣 Yorkshire is the king of most things………………including tea, but it was a highly recommended and enjoyable visit.

Final stop before the airport……………Grand Bassin Hindu Temple. Well, it’s not exactly one temple……………………….there are lots of them all situated around Ganga Talau lake in a secluded mountain area.

The lake is considered sacred and was renamed Ganga Talau after water from the River Ganges in India was realeased into it in 1972.

During the Hindu celebration of Maha Shivarati, the largest Hindu festival on the island, almost half a million Mauritian citizens walk here from their homes all around the island to make offerings at the temple of Shiva. Shiva is a principal deity in Hinduism and you can’t really miss Shiva at Grand Bassin. Shiva is 33 meters tall, the tallest statue in Mauritius. They have even built a road as wide as the highway for the pilgrims to walk along which stretches for miles around, separated from the car highway by wooden barriers.

Whenever you come here it will be busy with worshippers, particularly at the weekend when Hindu families come en-masse with their picnics, to worship and make offerings of food to the deities. It’s very colourful and an insight into another religion and culture. Definitely worth a visit, if only to marvel at the size of Shiva. You need to make sure you take a change of clothes though, because out of respect your body needs to be covered. No shorts and t-shirts here. I just had some floor length linen trousers and a little silk kimono jacket which covered my arms and shoulders which was fine and not too hot.

So that’s it, the end of the trip, Mauritius over and out. Did I enjoy Mauritius? Absolutely…………………this really was my sort of place. I’m not sure loooooong haul flying is for me. I’ll suck it up to get somewhere like this again and it’s ok once in a while but I would not like to think I was spending 12 hours on one plane on a regular basis. There’s so much more of Europe I want to explore too. If you are looking to do a long haul trip to the Indian Ocean though it would definitely be top of my list if you like beautiful people, jaw dropping landscapes, adventures, pristine beaches and lovely food. It’s once for active travellers, culture and food lovers as it has that perfect blend of luxury, relaxation and adventure. It’s often seen as a luxury destination but I can confirm it’s also one to visit if you are on a budget. You can’t do the Maldives or the Seychelles easily on a budget ……………but you can Mauritius. If you don’t fly direct the flight price comes down, I flew via Paris. There are lots of reasonably priced accommodation options and booking half board will really cut your food bill down. Lots of them will also do large price reductions if sales are slow and if you are not restricted as to when you can go. So all I needed was my cocktail and ice cream money and any museum entry. Most of the natural areas and museums I discovered to be free, or very cheap, so in total I think my spend for 10 days was around 350 euros, so it’s absolutely feasible once you’ve saved and paid the initial outlay for flights and accommodation.