One of the oldest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden, at Pamplemousses, is a haven for nature lovers. With a great variety of plants on grounds which cover 37.5 hectares, it should undoubtedly be on your to do list in Mauritius.
When you’re walking among the plants at the Botanic Garden of Pamplemousses, you will be walking in the footsteps of two famous figures in Mauritian history. The first is Mahé de Labourdonnais, who, in 1736, chose to turn these grounds into an estate. Thirty years later, Pierre Poivre, the intendant of the then Isle de France, changed its destiny. It would henceforth be a botanic garden, where vegetables, fruits and spices from around the world would be seen and marvelled at. Some two and a half centuries later, although some of the lustre of those days is gone, the botanic garden still harbours, in pristine settings, a fantastic collection of exotic and indigenous plants. Among them are medicinal plants, ferns and orchids.
As you make your way around the palm trees or follow the waterways, you will invariably stumble upon the ponds many people consider to be the real attractions of the Botanic Garden of Pamplemousses. One harbours giant water lilies. Native of the Amazon River, they bloom at night. The flower, white in colour at first, becomes purple the following morning, before falling off on the third day.
In other ponds, you’ll find the white lotus, from India, and Vietnam’s purple lotus.
On the grounds of the garden, you’ll also find a number of interesting structures. You will see the Château de Mon Plaisir, the funerary monument of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who became the country’s first Prime Minister after independence in 1968, a replica of an old sugarcane mill, and other steles.
There is so much to marvel at. So take your time wandering about, relaxing beside the ponds and staring in awe at the Carribean albizia, Africa’s baobab, giant bamboo trees or the hiptage (lianes de cerf)…
Practical
Don’t forget to wear a pair of comfortable shoes and a hat. Sunscreen and anti-mosquito spray are advisable.
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