Miles of lush sugarcane plantations, mystical mountains, cascading beautiful waterfalls and rainforests abounding with coniferous trees and casuarinas…It was some such description of Mauritius that lured us to the spectacular island. It’s a melting pot of all cultures- The Indians, Africans and Europeans co-habit the place to create a colorful, cosmopolitan, island culture.

The day after we arrived and checked into the hotel we explored Port Louis, the bustling capital of Mauritius. We went to see the beautiful Port Louis Waterfront and the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden is considered the jewel of the crown by naturalists throughout the world for their countless species of indigenous and exotic plants, including the giant Victorial Regia water lilies, and the talipot palm, said to flower once every sixty years and then wither away. The garden was created by Pierre Poivre in 1767 in the Estate of the French Governor Mahe de Labourdonnais.

The next day after breakfast, we set out to explore the southern part of Mauritius – Trou Aux cerfs, Black River Gorges, & Chamarel seven colored earth.

Possibly the main attraction in the Curepipe town, for tourists, apart from the shopping, is the Trou aux Cerfs crater. It’s a high extinct volcano that has been dormant for a long time. Trou aux Cerfs is six hundred and five metres above sea level and offers a spectacular view of part of the Mauritius Island. There are benches for rest and reflection, and a radar station for keeping an electronic eye on cyclone activity.

The village of Chamarel in southwest Mauritius has two attractions – the magnificent Chamarel Falls and the seven colored earths of Chamarel. The earths create a beautiful asymmetric pattern and were created by volcanic lava that cooled at different temperatures. These vividly contrasted layers of earth are a short drive away from the beautiful Chamarel waterfalls cascading hundreds of feet down a cliff.

The Black River Gorges is a 6,574 national park that was opened to the public in 1994. It houses most of the remaining indigenous forests of Mauritius. Visitors can also go hiking and enjoy the spectacular scenery and the plants and birdlife of Mauritius.

The beaches beckoned us the next day and all we did was snorkeling and hiking along the coast. It’s said that the best snorkeling experience is in Blue Bay, as there are conservation areas for the fish and coral to thrive. There was a huge crowd of snorkelers in the conservation areas (brought in by boats) and we couldn’t have a good view of the corals since they were too deep inside. We threw in a few pieces of bread crumbs and it was a delight to see almost an entire shoal of fish clamoring to eat them. We also went in a glass bottomed boat at the Flic en Flac white beach to view the marine habitation bursting with a variety of corals like Brain corals, Cabbage corals and Staghorn corals. There is also a wide variety of fish species that include Damselfish, Surgeonfish, Butterfly fish, etc.

There can never be a trip complete without shopping. We went on a shopping binge in Port Louis and Grand Baie. You need to bargain as in some cases you can buy at half the mentioned price. We bought a model ship, built to the scale of the original with every detail impeccably replicated (Mauritius has a reputation for these). Among other things we bought were an exquisite necklace made of camel bone, an African hand carved wooden bowl and a few Ralph Lauren (original) shirts at almost throws away prices.

The description of Mauritius that had brought us to the magnificent island was true to the word. We came back refreshed, sun-kissed and sea-soaked with lovely memories to cherish.