Port Louis 3-Day Itinerary: Harbour Heritage, Street Food and Gardens

This three-day route covers Port Louis's historic harbour quays and street-food lanes on foot during the lively weekday or Saturday mornings, then branches out to the botanical gardens of Pamplemousses and the volcanic peaks of the Moka Range. Read our practical briefing before setting off.

Day 1: UNESCO Aapravasi Ghat, Blue Penny Museum, Place d'Armes & Citadel

• Morning: begin on the harbour edge at the UNESCO-listed Aapravasi Ghat; tour the Beekrumsing Ramlallah Interpretation Centre and walk the fourteen black basalt steps where indentured labourers arrived from 1849.
• Midday: stroll five minutes south to Le Caudan Waterfront, walk beneath the colourful canopy of Umbrella Alley, and time your visit to the Blue Penny Museum for the ten-minute hourly lighting of the original 1847 One Penny and Two Pence Mauritius stamps.
• Afternoon: walk up palm-lined Place d'Armes past the 1738 Government House to see the dodo skeleton inside the Natural History Museum and rest beneath the banyan trees of Jardin de la Compagnie.
• Late afternoon: ascend Petite Montagne to the 1830s basalt fortress of Fort Adelaide (La Citadelle) for sunset views over the Champ de Mars racecourse and harbour cranes before dinner at Caudan or Balaclava.

Day 2: Central Market Dholl Puri, Jummah Mosque, Chinatown & Signal Mountain

• Morning: dive into Port Louis Central Market while the produce and herbalist aisles are busiest; queue for a pair of hot yellow split-pea dholl puri folded around butter-bean curry, crunchy gateaux piments and a cold glass of pink basil-seed alouda.
• Midday: walk up Royal Road to admire the white courtyard and ancient badamier tree of the 1850s Jummah Mosque, then pass through the Chinatown Gate to photograph street murals and eat steamed chayote and fish boulettes in clear broth.
• Afternoon: visit the ornate Dravidian gopuram of Kaylasson Tamil Temple in Sainte Croix on the northern edge of town, then walk the paved path up Signal Mountain for dusk views over the Indian Ocean.

Day 3: Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, L'Aventure du Sucre & Le Pouce

• Morning: head fifteen minutes north-east from Victoria Terminal or by car to the SSR (Pamplemousses) Botanical Garden to see the giant floating pads of Victoria amazonica water lilies, talipot palms and giant tortoises, followed by the L'Aventure du Sucre museum and rum/muscovado tasting at Beau Plan.
• Afternoon: either hike the grassy volcanic ridge of Le Pouce (812 m) from Petit Verger in Moka or spend a relaxed afternoon snorkelling the calm coral lagoon at Balaclava / Trou aux Biches.