OUR DESTINATIONS
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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- Africa
- Mauritius
- Port Louis
- Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses
Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses
About seven miles (11km) northeast of Port Louis, and easily
reached by regular buses, lies the island's premier tourist
attraction, the Pamplemousses gardens (now officially called the
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens in honour of the late
Prime Minister, but still colloquially referred to by their
original name). The gardens are enclosed by beautiful wrought iron
railings which are today in disrepair but when first manufactured
in 1862 won a prize at an international exhibition at Crystal
Palace in London.
The gardens were first laid out in 1735 around a mansion house
called Mon Plaisir as a vegetable garden to supply ships calling at
Port Louis. Later the house was bought by horticulturalist Pierre
Poivre, who introduced plant species from around the world
interspersed with indigenous species. The garden is redolent with
the perfume of fruit and spice trees, and the 24 hectares (60
acres) also sport a collection of stately palms, ebony, mahogany,
latania and pandanus. A great attraction is a pond full of the
Giant Amazon water lily.
Information & Facts
Language
English is the official language of Mauritius, but the
most widely used is French and the local dialect, Creole. Hindi,
Urdu and Chinese are also spoken.
Money
The currency of Mauritius is the Mauritian Rupee (MUR), which is
divided into 100 cents. Travellers cheques and foreign currency can
be exchanged at banks, bureaux de change and larger hotels.
Travellers cheques usually exchange at a better rate than cash.
ATMs are widely available in most towns and hotels, restaurants and
large retailers accept major credit cards.
Opening Times