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BOIS CHERI TEA FACTORY

Visit to Bois Chéri, the biggest tea producer in Mauritius.

Bois Chéri is the first tea plantation in Mauritius dates back to 1892. Visiting the Bois Chéri is the second stop in the Mauritian Tea Route (the first stop is the Domaine des Aubineaux).

A guide will lead you through the factory and the tea plantation, offering you to discover the history, stories and tales of the Bois Chéri and the importance of tea productions in Mauritius.

After the guided tour of the tea factory, you will visit the tea production museum learning more about the history of tea in Mauritius.

Grand bassin sacred lake

Ganga Talao Overview

Ganga Talao (commonly known as Grand Bassin in Mauritius) is a crater lake, about 550 metres above sea level, located in the mountainous Southwest district of Savanne. On the shoreline sits a temple along with a collection of small shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and other gods.

Ganga Talao is a major draw of crowds in Mauritius, with many people visiting the site to pray, meditate, play with the local monkeys, or simply to walk by the lake and enjoy the gorgeous surrounding views.

The lake of Ganga Talao is thought to be around 18 meters deep and is teeming with a healthy population of fish and eels – no doubt due to the leftover offerings they receive from Hindu pilgrims. However, it is strictly forbidden to fish here due to the sacred nature of the Ganga Talao lake.

History of Ganga Talao

In local folklore, the Ganga Talao lake’s history as a pilgrimage site goes back to 1887, when a Triolet ‘pujari’, or priest, had a dream in which he saw the lake’s water springing from the river Jahnavi, another name for the goddess Ganga.

News of this vision spread rapidly throughout the Hindu community in Mauritius, and when the priest subsequently visited the site with other people he found it looked exactly as it had in his dream.

Every year since then, pilgrims have trekked to the lake at the time of Maha Shivaratri, helped along the way by local people offering food and moral support en route. In 2007 a huge statue of the Hindu god Shiva was unveiled and remains the tallest statue in Mauritius at about 33 metres high.

Cultural Importance of Ganga Talao

The Ganga Talao crater lake is at the heart of one of the island's most important Hindu festivals, Maha Shivaratri. Every year thousands of Hindus make the rugged journey to Grand Bassin for a touch of divinity.

Maha Shivratri celebrates the god Shiva, one of Hinduism's three major deities. Pilgrims carry hand-made "kanwars" - shrines dedicated to Shiva, to Ganga Talao, and once they find a suitable place at the water's edge, they perform their own private prayer ceremonies with offerings of fruit, incense sticks and lamps.

To fully grasp this festival’s significance, it is important to know the harsh history of the indentured Indian labourers in Mauritius.

The island's Hindus are the descendants of half a million indentured laborers, subjects of the British Empire brought to Mauritius in the nineteenth century with the fake promise of a better life. However, the life that awaited them was far from that. Disease was rife aboard the vessels crossing the Indian Ocean, with cholera, smallpox, malaria and yellow fever. It claimed lives at sea and at numerous quarantines at the doorstep of Mauritius. Those who made it to the mainland worked as labourers in the sugarcane fields through tough conditions. It was not slavery, but it was far from what we call a normal healthy working environment In those dire times, one of their driving forces was their beliefs and their religion.

Mangal Mahadev at Ganga Talao

During your visit of this sacred site, you will inevitably be awestruck by the gigantic statue of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. However, fear not about your doom, at Grand Bassin you will find the Hindu God of destruction smiling and as peaceful as ever.

The statue is f 108 feet (33 meters) high and is the highest known statue in Mauritius. It was completed in 2007 and the "Sthapan" (the ritual) was done during the 2008 Maha Shivratri festival. The sight of the Mangal Mahadev statue is quite impressive as it is a beautifully crafted majestic statue.

Important Info about Ganga Talao

Ample parking space and toilet facilities are provided at Grand Bassin/ Ganga Talao, and entry to the site is free, though donations for the upkeep and maintenance of the temples are always welcome.

Note: Kindly remember to remove your shoes before entering any of the temples.

If you have time to spare, you can combine your visit to Ganga Talao with other nearby attractions such as the Bois Chéri Tea Plantation or even try a hiking trip in the beautiful Southwest region of Mauritius. The Bois Chéri offers a great panoramic view of the south of the island. Nowadays Bois Chéri produces a new range of flavored teas, green teas and herbal teas. You may taste them during your visit. Your visit to the Bois Chéri plantation includes A guided tour of the Bois Cheri tea factory Visit to the tea museum Visit to the tea plantation tea tasting at the chalet (tea & biscuits)

La Vallee des Couleurs (24 CPLOURED EARTH)

La Vallee des Couleurs Reserve is home to various species of flora and fauna and a great place to enjoy selection of nature trips and fun activities.

Nature lovers are bound to like this place; it is quite a unique experience with the indigenous fauna and flora that abound in the park.

Visitors are treated with a range of natural landscapes, including plateaus, mountains, valleys, craters and crater-lakes.

A visit to Vallée des Couleurs

The visit to the reserve includes: the visit of Green valleys, Plateaus, Hills, Lakes, Waterfalls, Rivers, Volcanic ashes, 23 Coloured Earth, endemic and Indigenous Flora and fauna and access to the many facilities of the reserve such as the Kids Garden, Cafeteria and the restaurant.

The visit of La Vallee des Couleurs begins with the access to the Exhibition room which provides an outline of the different places of interest which you will discover through your visit.You will also enjoy the visit the fern garden, without which any visit in the park would be incomplete, unless one wants to miss out on the beauty of tree ferns, wild orchids or other native flowers like the Trochetia (Boucle d’oreille/Ear ring) and the Bouquet Banané (achna Mauriciana), which only blooms at the end of every year.

The unspoiled beauty of the land captures every heart and soul. The park is also home to tortoises, monkeys, stags, fish and also birds such as the Pink Pigeon, Paille en Queue, Cateau Vert with various endemic trees like the Ebony, Bois de Natte, Takamaka and other rare plants also contributing to the beauty of the park

Vallée des Couleurs Cascades (Waterfalls)

Cascade Vacoas, Cascade Bois de Natte, Cascade Cheveux d'Ange and Cascade Chamouzé are the four wonderful waterfalls where visitors can listen to rustling water; relax in natural intimacy and feel inner peace. The park also offers a captivating and breathtaking panoramic view of the South Coast.

The 23 Coloured Earth

The origin of the 23 Coloured Earth dates back to millions of years after the volcanic eruption of the Bassin Blanc!

It is a phenomenon arising from volcanic activity and mineral deposits; totally unique to this one beautiful spot on earth.

The unique colors that can be seen at the 23 coloured earth are the result of a volcanic eruption when there is a high level of gas pressure, causing magma (molten rock deep within the Earth) to come to the surface. During the eruption, the cooling lava solidifies quickly and combines its chemical elements with silica structures into vitreous, small crystals. The chemical composition of basalt, ancient dark igneous rock, changes according to the conditions of the original magma (high pressure and high temperature gas saturation).

When exposed to the surface conditions, the mineral and chemical composition of the molten rock changes progressively. The weathering process that followed produced these different colors of the Earth that we can now observe.

You will have the opportunity to contemplate this fantastic piece of land on its many colors and discover firsthand this unique natural phenomenon.

What to Expect when visiting the Vallée des Couleurs?

The green vegetation, birds, Arthurium, green houses, deer park, endemic trees, beautiful prawn ponds, rivers and the multicolored earth, all makes the visit a must for all nature lovers.

A visit of the Vallée des Couleurs brings pleasure to all your senses; the songs of birds and the sound of water falling are music to the ears and the captivating and breathtaking panoramic views of the South Coast is a pure delight for the eyes.

Things to do in Mauritius | La Vallée des Couleurs

• Exclusive quad 500cc
• Buggy
• Mountain luge car
• Ziplines
• Trekking