For as long as we can remember, Mauritius has been synonymous with honeymoons spent lazing on ethereal beaches with powdery white sands and warm azure waters. While it does have some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, there is no dearth of offbeat things to do in Mauritius – it isn’t called Paradise Island for nothing! Even though we had to tear ourselves away from our lovely honeymoon suite, we are glad we did. Hopefully this article will give you a peek into an oft-ignored, yet gorgeous side of Mauritius.

Mauritius Botanical Garden

Mauritius Botanical Garden, also known as Pamplemousses Garden and SSR Botanical Garden, is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Mauritius, and is located near Port Louis. It is the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere. The spectacular garden was built by Pierre Poivre in 1767, and covers an area of around 37 hectares. The botanical garden is most famous for its giant water lilies, spice garden and unique collection of 85 varieties of palms from Central America, Asia, Africa and the islands around the Indian Ocean.

Black River Gorges National Park

Black River Gorges National Park is a national park stretching on an area of 6,574 hectares in the hilly south-western part of Mauritius. It was construction in Mauritius Black River Gorges Nature Reserveorder to save the natural vegetation of the island and make it one of the most important Mauritius sightseeing. One can walk along the greenery and reach the highest point of the island, which is the Black River Peak. Facilities for visitors include two information centres, picnic areas and 60 kilometers of trails. The Black River Gorges National park protects most of the island’s remaining rainforest, and is home to many species of wild animals and birds. Many endemic plants and animals can be found in the park including the Mauritian flying fox, Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, Mauritius parakeet, Mauritius cuckoo-shrike, Mauritius bulbul, Mauritius olive white-eye, Mauritius grey white-eye and Mauritius fody.

Ile aux Cerfs Island

Île aux Cerfs Island, known in English as the deer island is an island near the east coast of Mauritius in the Flacq district. Ile Aux Cerfs is famous for its sandy beaches, beautiful lagoon and big selection of activities and facilities. In Ile Aux Cerfs you are sure to have a day of relaxation and fun on one of the picture-postcard beaches, and to enjoy a swim and snorkeling in the lagoon. This paradise island of Mauritius constitutes of around 100 hectares of land. Nowadays there are no more deers on the island, but you will find there some of the worlds beautiful beaches and as such it is one of the must place to visit and see in Mauritius.

Port Louis

Port Louis is the capital city and main port of Mauritius, Port Louis was constructed in the year 1735 by the noted French governor, Mahe de Labourdonnais. Today Port Louis is the largest city in Mauritius. Port Louis is surrounded by a mountain range, called the Port Louis Moka Range which makes it worth watching.Mauritius Capital Port Louis Port Louis has conserved many historic and colonial buildings through the years. One of them is a fortification named Fort Adelaide or La Citadelle, built by the British in 1835.

The latter dominates the city. The main tourist attractions in Port Louis include the Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis Bazaar, Police Barracks, the Mauritian Chinatown and the old Port Louis theatre. The capital has also three museums which are: the Blue Penny Museum, the Mauritius Natural History Museum and the Mauritius Stamp Museum. Also, the biggest and oldest post office in Mauritius is found in Port Louis near the Caudan Waterfront. At the city center there are number of French styled buildings, which enhances the charm of Port Louis. Port Louis is definitely a must place to see and visit during your visit to Mauritius.

Grand Bassin

Grand Bassin, known also as Ganga Talao is a lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 600 meters above sea level. The Grand Bassin is a holy lake for Mauritian of Hindu faith. It is said that the water inside the lake communicates with the waters of the holy Ganges of India. The Hindus of Mauritius declared the Grand Bassin as a Holy lake.

The Hindu community performs there a pilgrimage every year on the Maha Sivaratri/“Siva’s Great Night”, on this day they honor the Lord Siva. Beside the lake there a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and other Gods including Hanuman and Lakshmi. Also, overlooking the lake is the statue of Mangal Mahadev (Shiva statue) which is of 33 meters, making it the highest statue in Mauritius.

Chamarel park – 7 colored earth & Chamarel falls

Chamarel park – 7 colored earth & Chamarel falls – The “seven-coloured earth” of Chamarel is a geological curiosity and a major tourist attraction of Mauritius. The landscape at Chamarel is truly unique, it is the only place in world where you can find a clay earth of 7 colors at one place. The colors of these unique dunes are red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow, purple and red are predominant. Also when visiting the park you get to see a great view of the neighboring falls and of the lush vegetation all around.The Chamrel park offers another attraction to be relished first, the Waterfall of Chamarel. It is a truly beautiful waterfall, some consider it as the best in Mauritius. Three distinct stream plunging down a free fall of nearly a 100 meters down into the gorge.