Places
The island
Republic of Mauritius
The real island
Nine districts, Le Morne as the southwest finger, Port Louis on the northwest harbour. Tap a district or an islet. Round Island and Serpent Island are marked on the chart — you do not land there.
Base map: Wikimedia Commons Map of Mauritius.png · CC BY-SA 3.0. Pins are ours.
38 places · the map is free. Local “what tourists miss” sits on each place at $0.99.
Port Louis · UNESCO
Aapravasi Ghat
The surviving immigration depot where modern indenture was trialled. Small site, outsized history.
Southwest · UNESCO
Le Morne Brabant
A mountain used as a maroon refuge, now a cultural landscape. Hike it with respect, or simply look.
Folklore · oral tradition
The leap at Le Morne
A widely told story of maroons who leapt from the mountain. It is oral tradition, not a verified single event.
North · oldest garden in the southern hemisphere
SSR Botanic Garden, Pamplemousses
Giant water lilies, spice trees, and a colonial experiment station that became a national garden.
Southwest · geology, not magic sand
Chamarel seven-coloured earth
A small exposure of weathered volcanic soil in dunes of rust, ochre and grey-green. Real, finite, crowded.
Savanne · sacred crater lake
Ganga Talao (Grand Bassin)
A Hindu pilgrimage lake in a mountain crater. Come as a guest, not as a spectator.
Southwest highlands · native forest
Black River Gorges National Park
The largest remaining native forest block. Viewpoints first; trails only with time, water, and a plan.
Port Louis · the fort that never fired
Fort Adelaide (La Citadelle)
British basalt fort on Petite Montagne, 1834–1840. Built to overawe the city. Used as a viewpoint.
Port Louis · living centre, not a museum
Jummah Mosque
The principal Friday mosque of the capital, grown through the 19th century with Indian materials and craftsmen.
The capital's working bazaar
Port Louis Central Market
Produce, spices, snacks, and negotiation. Go to see how the city feeds itself, not to buy a 'Mauritius' fridge magnet.
North tip · the red roof
Cap Malheureux
Notre Dame Auxiliatrice, a small red-roofed church at the island's northern cape, with Coin de Mire offshore.
Curepipe · dormant crater
Trou aux Cerfs
A wooded volcanic cone in the plateau town of Curepipe. A local loop, not a wilderness.
South coast · no lagoon
Gris-Gris and Roche qui Pleure
Where the reef breaks and the ocean hits basalt. A lookout, not a swimming beach.
South-east · a lagoon with rules
Blue Bay Marine Park
A declared marine park near Mahebourg. Snorkel only where allowed; the coral is the point.
Conservation islet · not a beach club
Île aux Aigrettes
A coral islet nature reserve off the south-east. Visit only via the authorised conservation visit.
Centre · a Creole mansion you can actually read
Eureka House, Moka
A 19th-century Creole house in the Moka valley, with a river, a lawn, and furniture that explains the planter class.
The rock-balanced peak · look, don't casually climb
Pieter Both
An 820 m mountain with a boulder on top, named after a Dutch VOC official wrecked here. A view for most, a technical climb for few.
South-east · where the island's colonial story starts
Vieux Grand Port
Dutch first settlement, later French Grand Port, site of a notable 1810 naval battle. Overlooked by north-coast itineraries.
East · the overlooked park
Bras d'Eau National Park
A coastal national park on the east, with ruins, forest, and far fewer buses than Black River Gorges.
East · the big east-coast bazaar
Flacq market
One of the island's major markets, especially on the busiest market days. Go for food and people, not handicraft theatre.
West · the lagoon people actually use
Flic en Flac public beach
A long west-coast public beach with casuarinas, a lagoon, and a village behind it. Sunset, not secrecy.
West · river, salt, surf, village
Tamarin
A west-coast village with a river mouth, old salt pans in the landscape, and a different tempo from Flic en Flac.
West · a small British tower with a long sightline
Martello tower, La Preneuse
A Martello tower on the west coast, part of a British system of coastal defence. Overlooked between beach stops.
North-east · a village the coach skips
Poudre d'Or
A quieter north-east coastal village, historically tied to shipwreck memory and a slower coast than Grand Baie.
North · sugar as the operating system
L'Aventure du Sucre
A sugar-factory museum that explains why the island looks like this. Go for the system, not only the rum tasting.
Port Louis · the oval in the city
Champ de Mars
Racecourse in the capital since 1812, among the oldest in the southern hemisphere. On race days the city reorients.
North-west lagoon · public and hotel sand
Trou aux Biches
A long north-west lagoon beach, calm in typical trades, used by families and hotels. Pretty, popular, not a discovery.
East · long sand, more wind
Belle Mare
A long east-coast beach famous in brochures. Beautiful, often breezier than the west, with a different day's sea.
North hub · useful, loud, not the whole island
Grand Baie
The north's tourist town: boats, shops, bars, supermarkets. A base and an errand centre. A poor summary of Mauritius.
Southwest lagoon · Crystal Rock
Île aux Bénitiers
A low sand islet off La Gaulette. Catamarans stop here with Crystal Rock. Walk to the quiet end; the jetty end is stalls.
East lagoon · Trou d’Eau Douce
Île aux Cerfs
The famous east islet: beach, water toys, golf. Easy to overpay for a boxed BBQ day. The boat ride is the point.
North islet · cliff, usually viewed not landed
Coin de Mire (Gunner’s Quoin)
The sharp rock north of Cap Malheureux. Catamarans circle it. Landing is not a casual picnic.
Far north · day-sail sand
Flat Island and Gabriel Island
A northern pair on catamaran maps. Snorkel and sand, then back. Not a place to be dropped and forgotten.
Southeast · conservation island
Île aux Aigrettes
A coral islet off Mahebourg run as a wildlife reserve. Booked guided visits, not a beach club.
Far north · no landing for visitors
Round Island
A scientifically famous reserve. You do not go. Put it on a list of things Mauritius protects, not a Tuesday plan.
Grand Port · 1810 battle
Île de la Passe
A fortified islet at the mouth of Grand Port. History, not a beach club. Access is by organised boat, not a swim.
Northeast lagoon · mangrove
Île d’Ambre
A larger northeast islet with lagoon and mangrove. A different product from Cerfs: quieter, more nature, still a boat.
Blue Bay · private islet
Île aux Deux Cocos
A private luxury islet in the southeast lagoon. You book a product. You do not turn up with a cooler.