Cathay Tours Hotels Mauritius

Full Day: Port-Louis / Pamplemousses Garden/ Domaine Les Pailles

Departure from the hotel at around 8.30 / 9am. Back to hotel at 5 / 5.30pm. A visit to the famous oriental market where everything is sold in a riot of colours: exotic fruits, vegetables, spices, medecinal herbs, local handicrafts and basketry will amaze you. Time for shopping in the city centre where temples, pagodas, churches and mosques are all withina few yards from each other. Next, make a photo stop at the ancient Fort Adelaide known as the Citadelle & at "Marie Reine de la Paix", place for pilgrimage for catholics.

The tour continues to the famous Pamplemousses Garden, known for its impressive collection of indigenous and exotic plants such as giant water lilies and the Talipot; whose flowers, according to legend, bloom once every hundred years before dying. Deers and tortoises will fascinate the younger ones whilst an old French mansion "Chateau de Mon Plaisir" as well as an old sugar mill recall the rich historical past of the beautiful island. Before going back to the hotel, enjoy a 15mins ride by horse driven carts or train at the Domaine Les Pailles to the Sugar Mill. Discover the traditional making of sugar by a guided visit of the Sugar Mill. See rum being distilled from sugar cane syrup at the Rum distillery. Then have a look at the Handicraft huts: an exploration of the sugar world and other agricultural and cultural aspects of the island. Have the opportunity to taste rum and visit the spice garden afterwards.