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For the love of nature
Mauritius caters to the nature lover with roughly a dozen nature reserves and botanical gardens to explore, plus mountainous vistas, waterfalls and tropical forests.
Created in 1750 and considered the oldest botanical garden in the Southern hemisphere, the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens in Pamplemousses has 500 species of plants, including giant water lilies and more than 80 varieties of palms.
On Île aux Aigrettes, off the south-east coast of Mauritius, search for endemic species like Mauritius kestrels and pink pigeons, as well as Aldabra giant tortoises. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Le Morne Cultural Landscape is an impressive mountain that juts out into the ocean; its peninsula sheltered runaway slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries.