Top Tourist Attraction In Mauritius : Pamplemousses Garden
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway
― Ernest Hemingway
Mauritius National Botanical Garden is home to an incredible variety of tropical plants, many of them indigenous. These gardens are situated in the village of Pamplemousses which lies about seven miles North East of the Capital, Port Louis. Pamplemousses was probably the earliest of the ‘botanical gardens’in the tropics, now it is one of the top tourist attractions in the world. The botanical garden stretches over endless acres of land and it may take you more than a week to cover the whole garden. It is populated with more than 650 varieties of plants among which are the famous Baobabs, the Palmier Bouteille, the ineluctable Giant Water Lilies, dozens of medicinal plants, a large spice garden and many more.
Pamplemousses is believed to have taken its name from a citrus plant commonly called the pamplemoucier which was imported by the Dutch from Java. The fruit which grows in the area is thick skinned and bitter and resembles a large grapefruit. You will need at least 2 hours to visit the gardens. Amongst the most impressive sights is the peaceful pond concealed by the enormous floating leaves of the Giant Amazon water lily. The flowers open white but fade into a dusky pink by the end of the second day. The collection of palms is extensive, amongst them being Royal Palm, Queen Palm from Brazil, Raffia Palms from Madagascar, Lady Palm from China and the Talipot Palm which dies after flowering with a giant flower when it is between 40 and 60 years old.
This park is rightly counted as one of the most beautiful tropical gardens in the world, and is one of the highlights of any trip to Mauritius. For those who find the seaside resort crowds to be too much or the beach too hot, the botanical garden is an ideal destination. The Pamplemousses Gardens are a place of calm, where visitors can easily while away a few hours wandering in the shade of the trees.
Where it is
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, commonly known as the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, is a popular tourist attraction near Port Louis, Mauritius.
How to reach
Pamplemousses can be reached by bus from Grand Baie, Trou aux Biches, Grand Gaube and Port Louis. Services from Grand Baie and Trou aux Biches run approximately every hour and stop near the sugar museum on the way to the botanical gardens. Buses from Port Louis’ Immigration Square bus station and Grand Gaube operate every 10 to 15 minutes. These buses only stop at the botanical gardens, from where it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the museum.
