7-day trip to Mauritius
7-day trip to Mauritius
Mauritius is one of the many small islands in the Indian Ocean. Belonging to the African continent, Mauritius is a good tourist attraction. The total area of the island is only 2090 sq. km. and the distance between the north and south is 65 kms, so you can imagine how small the island is. Although it is small, it has some unique places which are different from what you see elsewhere.
I visited the country for a 7-day trip and the itinerary I have penned below.
Days
Day 1: Arrival in Mauritius
Arrival in Mauritius
The 7-day trip began with the arrival at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. This was a package trip. The visa is free and on-arrival for Indian citizens. The airport is located on the southern part of the country while our resort was located in the northern part, at a place called Trou Aux Biches. So it was a long journey to reach our resort. However, the journey waded through a lot of sugarcane fields so the journey was not that bad. Mauritius was once French colonized hence you would see lots of French references.. The location of our resort, Trou Aux Biches is a French name means trough of beaches. Our resort was Le Grand Bleu, located at Trou Aux Biches (translates to trough of beaches in French). After check in we headed to the dinner buffet that served us with enough vegetarian options and few Indian cuisines.
Visit
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Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Day 2: South Island Trip
Trip to the southern part of the island
This day was planned for the southern part of the country. First, we visited one of the dormant volcanoes here - Trou Aux Cerfs where a huge crater filled with water can be seen. the city view from the hill is a spectacular sight one shouldn't miss.Our next spot was the famous boat manufacturing industry. The citizens believe owning a boat brings good luck and the industry has saved the country from economic crisis. Next we headed to the only hindu temple in the country called Ganga Talao or the Grand Bassin dedicated to Lord Shiva. The water in the lake here is mixed with the Ganga water, brought from India and hence the name Ganga Talao. finishing our temple visit we moved to the main attraction La Vallée des Couleurs (Valley of Colors). As one would have guessed, this place derives its name due to the different shades of the soil, caused by the deposits of varying ratios of Aluminium and Iron. As the national park, this place fosters deers and turtles. One can opt for adventure activities like off-roading or ATV rides. Or just a simple walk along a waterfall would do a huge good. After a long trip, we were back into our resort for a comfortable rest.
Visit
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Trou aux Cerfs
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Ganga Talao
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La Vallée Des Couleurs Nature Park
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Eat
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La Vallée Des Couleurs Nature Park
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Photos
Day 3: North Island Trip
Trip to Port Louis and north island
The day to explore the northern part of the country and the capital city of Port Louis. We started the day with a visit to Red Church at Cap Malheureux. This is located at the northern part of the country bordering the Indian Ocean. It is one of the popular churches and one might have seen this in many movies (vis Albela) Next we visited the Citadel Fort, built by the British in the 19th century. This was built by the British and is perched atop a hill of about 100m from sea level. The view of Port Louis city is breathtaking. From the fort, we went to the Marie church also known as the Queen of Peace, a popular place in Mauritius. Scenes of a bollywood movie 'Mujhse Shaadi Karoge' was shot here. The rest of the day was left to us and we visited the biggest mall of the country - Le Caudan Waterfront that hosts multiple restaurants, shops, casinos, making it a must visit place. Since we were already located in the northern side, the day ended quickly. We retreated back to our resort from the mall.
Visit
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Port Louis
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Cap Malheureux
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Citadelle (Fort Adelaide)
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Queen Street
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Caudan Waterfront
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Eat
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Caudan Waterfront
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Photos
Day 4: Trip to Ile Aux Cerfs
Trip to Ile Aux Cerfs
This day was reserved for a trip to Ile Aux Cerfs - one of the famous island attraction. The island is around 50 kms from Port Louis and is towards the eastern part of the island. The island is famous for its white sand beaches and lagoons. To reach the island, we took a boat ride of about 40 mins to the island from the mainland. There are a variety of water activities, including Scuba diving, underwater walking, parasailing. we experienced underwater walking, a deep dive activity, that left us awestruck while we witnessed the most beautiful marine life. However, you are tied to a boat and you can only move as long as the length of the string attached. We also visited a nearby waterfall (name unknown). The remaining day we just roamed around the island and beaches before returning to the resort.
Visit
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Île aux Cerfs
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Eat
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Île aux Cerfs
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Photos
Day 5: Casela Nature Park and Dolphin watch
Dolphin watch and Casela Nature Park
We booked a trip to Casela National park and dolphin watching. Early morning, we left to the west coast for dolphin watching along the Flic en Flac beach. The trip included a boat ride with a packed breakfast. We could store all our belongings in a locker before entering the boat. A 45 min speed boat ride took us to middle of the sea, which as per our guide was the dolphin habitat. Soon, we began spotting dolphins and with snorkelling gear, we shared the same space under water and that was a tremendous life experience. Unfortunately, I couldn't click any photos here. Once we reached the mainland, we changed and moved on to our next stop. From there, we visited the Casela National Park which is around 40 kms from Port Louis. What makes Casela famous is that one could interact with big cats - lions, tigers etc, feed giraffes and also go on an Ostrich safari. We patted a lioness and a lion. A nervy yet incredible activity that we experienced never before. The Ostrich safari goes on an open jeep and the ostriches come close up to your jeep. After another fun-filled day, we retreated to our resort.
Visit
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Casela Nature Parks
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Flic en Flac
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Eat
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Casela Nature Parks
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Photos
Day 6: Mont Choisy and Grand Baie visit
Mont Choisy Beach
This day was left to our leisure. So, we visited a beach around 5 kms from our resort to a place called the Mont Choisy Beach. This is one of the spectacular beaches, with turquoise water and sports activities like jet skiing, parasailing, tube boat, banana boat etc. We indulged ourselves in jet skiing and tube boat rides. One can get street food and Mauritian local food here. In the evening, we visited the Grand Baie area, which is a large tourist destination. We could see the Mauritian famous boat called the Catamaran boats around here. This place is known for shopping. There are many malls here so in case one wishes to shop, Grand Baie is the place. We used local bus to reach here, which is actually affordable. There are frequent buses around so that was not a fuss at all. We also visited the beach at Trou aux biches which was actually opposite to our resort. A long walk along the beach eased out our minds. This was our penultimate day in our trip and we had to pack for our departure.
Visit
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Mont Choisy Beach
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Grand Baie
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Trou aux Biches
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Eat
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Grand Baie
Stay
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Le Grand Bleu Hotel
Photos
Day 7: Departure from Mauritius
Departure from Mauritius
After a sumptuous breakfast, we packed our bags and started our long journey back to the airport. Mauritius was my first trip to a foreign country so the trip will remain close to my heart. It is a wonderful place. The country may seem a little expensive but they are worth it. As I said, the visa is free for Indians and it is on arrival. The currency here is Mauritian Rupee which is double the amount of an INR. Mauritian Rupee is available in all forex, but it is better to exchange there at the airport. One can also use the ATMs to draw Mauritian currency. The conversion rate is better there, than in India.
Visit
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Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Summary: Trip to Mauritius
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