Mauritius travel guide: from the northern lagoons to Le Morne

At Gris-Gris, the scenery changes completely: no lagoon, just the Indian Ocean crashing head-on into black cliffs in a roar of spray.

Near Souillac, the south coast of Mauritius is one of the few stretches of the island without a coral reef, so the southern swell rolls straight in. Gris-Gris and, a little further on, the "Roche qui pleure" (Weeping Rock) are its best-known viewpoints.

You follow the clifftop path, go down to the small beach below to watch the waves, then carry on to the Telfair Garden in Souillac. An hour is enough.

Few travellers make the effort to come this far, yet this is the landscape that shows the island's raw side, far from the postcards.

From the lagoon, Le Morne Brabant looks like a basalt fortress sitting on turquoise water, and from the air, the currents at its foot create the illusion of a waterfall plunging under the sea.

This rock of about 555 m, at the south-western tip of the island, was a refuge for runaway slaves (maroons) fleeing the plantations in the 18th and 19th centuries. The "Le Morne Cultural Landscape" has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 as a symbol of resistance to slavery.

You climb to the summit with a guide, on a steep trail whose last section means using your hands: about three to four hours there and back, with a view over the whole south-western lagoon. At the foot of the rock, Le Morne public beach and the Slave Route memorial complete the visit.

Most visitors only see it from the beach; climbing to the top also shows you why the maroons chose it.

In the middle of the forest, the ground suddenly ripples into small red, ochre, brown and purple dunes, like a painter's palette left out in the sun.

These dunes come from volcanic rock weathered into clays rich in iron and aluminium, whose colours stay separate despite the rain. The site is part of a private geopark that also includes the Chamarel waterfall, a drop of almost 100 m into a bowl of greenery, viewpoints and a giant tortoise enclosure.

You follow the wooden walkway around the dunes, go down to the waterfall viewpoint, then carry on to the Chamarel rum distillery by the road. Allow an hour to an hour and a half on site.

Black River Gorges are a fifteen-minute drive away: the two visits combine easily in the same morning.

The boat crosses a lagoon in a thousand shades of blue, then lands on a strip of white sand lined with casuarina trees: Île aux Cerfs looks like the postcard you picture when booking your trip.

This islet off the east coast, opposite Trou d'Eau Douce, is largely taken up by a golf course; its beaches and sandbanks remain open to everyone. It is the most popular boat trip on the island.

People come for the day: swimming in shallow water, snorkelling, optional water sports, lunch on the island or a barbecue on board the catamarans, often combined with a stop at the Grande Rivière Sud-Est waterfall.

Early in the morning, before the catamarans arrive, the sandbanks are almost deserted.

On the Port Louis waterfront, a flight of worn stone steps leads up to low basalt buildings: hundreds of thousands of immigrants first set foot on the island on these steps.

The Aapravasi Ghat was the immigration depot through which, from 1834, almost half a million indentured labourers passed, mostly from India, brought in to replace slaves on the sugar plantations after abolition. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006; it tells the origin story of most of today's Mauritian population.

You visit the remains of the depot and the nearby interpretation centre, whose registers, photos and objects trace the labourers' journey, in about an hour. The central market and the Caudan waterfront are a few minutes' walk away.

An hour here helps you understand Mauritian society today, where the descendants of the indentured labourers are the majority.

From the viewpoint, your eyes drop into a forested gorge that runs all the way to the ocean, sometimes with the white flight of a tropicbird or the call of an endemic parakeet.

Created in 1994, Mauritius's largest national park protects much of what remains of the island's native forest, along with species saved just in time such as the pink pigeon and the Mauritius kestrel. Entry is free.

You can stop at the roadside viewpoints (Black River Gorges, Alexandra Falls) or walk one of the marked trails, such as the Macchabée trail or the descent to the river, from two to six hours depending on the route.

The park covers about 6,500 hectares, a large share of the native forest still standing on the island.

In the bay, dozens of boats bob on jade-coloured water, while the main street buzzes with shops, restaurants and bars until late at night.

Once a fishing village, Grand Baie has become the island's liveliest resort, in the heart of the north coast. It is the base for boat trips to the northern islets: Coin de Mire, Île Plate and Île Gabriel.

You swim at La Cuvette, a small sheltered beach, or at Pereybère, two kilometres away, board a catamaran for a day out to the islets, and enjoy the many bars and restaurants that stay open late.

For a stay without a car, it is the most practical base: buses to Port Louis, tour agencies and restaurants all within walking distance.

On the large pond, the leaves of the Victoria water lilies spread out like trays almost two metres across, with upturned rims, and white and pink flowers open between them.

The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, known as Pamplemousses Garden, was developed from 1770 by the French administrator Pierre Poivre, who acclimatised spices and tropical plants here. Today it brings together dozens of palm species, spice trees, lotus ponds and an enclosure of deer and tortoises.

You stroll for one to two hours along shaded paths, from the royal palm avenue to the giant water lily pond. Official guides offer their services at the entrance.

The garden is about twenty minutes from Port Louis, so you can combine it with the capital on the same day.

By the lake, incense mingles with the sound of bells, flower offerings float on the water, and a huge statue of Shiva watches over the access road.

Grand Bassin, or Ganga Talao, is a crater lake in the central highlands, held sacred by the Hindu community. Every year, during the festival of Maha Shivaratri in February or March, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk here from all over the island. The Shiva statue, the Mangal Mahadev, is more than 30 m tall.

You walk around the lakeside temples, watch the rituals and the monkeys roaming nearby, then head on to Black River Gorges, just down the road. Allow half an hour to an hour.

Nearly half of Mauritians are Hindu, and this is where their devotion is most visible.

At Trou aux Biches, the lagoon is so calm and shallow that you can wade out a long way, feet in the sand, with fish swimming around your ankles.

This long white sand beach shaded by casuarina trees stretches along the north-west coast, between Mont Choisy and Pointe aux Piments. Protected by the reef, it is considered one of the safest beaches on the island for swimming.

You swim, snorkel along the reef and watch the sunset, since the coast faces west. Dive centres in the area offer try dives at nearby sites.

Grand Baie is only about ten minutes away by car, for restaurants and excursions.

At Belle Mare, the beach stretches as far as the eye can see, lined with casuarinas, and the lagoon shifts from pale green to deep blue all the way to the white line of the reef.

On the east coast, Belle Mare and Palmar form a beach several kilometres long, one of the longest in Mauritius. The shaded public beach sits next to the coast's big luxury hotels.

You swim, walk along the sand, go kayaking or windsurfing, and head from here to Île aux Cerfs, a few minutes' drive away. The coast is exposed to the trade winds, which are stronger in the southern winter.

For a relaxing stay by the water, few places on the island offer as much space.

In the late afternoon, Flic en Flac beach fills with families and strollers who come to watch the sun sink into the ocean behind the reef.

This west coast resort has several kilometres of sand lined with casuarinas, sheltered from the trade winds. It grew up around apartments, guesthouses and hotels of every category.

You swim in a calm lagoon, dive the drop-offs near the reef, and head from here to Tamarin for the dolphins or to Chamarel and Le Morne, half an hour's drive away.

In the southern winter, when the east coast is windy, the sun usually keeps shining here.