Places to Visit in Mauritius: Pamplemousses Botanical Garden and Village

The Pamplemousses Botanical Garden (officially Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden) is one of the most popular Mauritius attractions. Its origins date back to the French colonial period when the Intendant Pierre Poivre first created the botanical garden in 1770 and showcased various endemic and introduced plants. It’s most commonly visited as part of a North Day Tour.

We recommend hiring a guide that can accompany you during your visit. They usually charge about Rs. 50 per person. The guides speak multiple languages and are very knowledgeable. They can truly enrich your experience, sharing all kinds of interesting facts about the garden, its plants and history.

If you choose to do the visit on your own, make sure you take a map of the garden, provided at the ticket counter. During your stroll through the park, you’ll come across different types of plants, including trees that produce fruits, nuts and spices.

You can spend hours wandering through the garden, taking photos and enjoying the peaceful surroundings. In fact, one of the things to do in Mauritius that locals love is to enjoy a picnic in this historical garden.

Children (and grown ups) will love watching the ducks roaming around and the fish in the ponds. There is also an enclosure for the giant tortoises, so if you’ve never seen one, here is your chance to see them!

The main attraction of the garden is the famous giant waterlily pond. It is filled with these fascinating aquatic plants, native of the Amazon River basin.

water lilies floating on the water

Fun facts about the Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden:

  • It is the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere
  • It features 85 varieties of palms trees from all over the world
  • Many world leaders have visited the garden and have even planted a tree there!

Most people end their visit at the garden but we also recommend that you check out the villages of Pamplemousses and Mapou where you can visit the sugar museum and an old colonial house and orchard.

Book our Private Excursion: North Day Tour today to discover the many places to visit in Mauritus such as The Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, L’Aventure du Sucre Sugar Museum, Château de Labourdonnais Orchard and Colonial House and Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius.