Nature Trails: A journey into the remote nature of Mauritius
Mauritius is without a doubt an island which offers a lot of tourist attractions. It would, however also be nice to discover Mauritius from another side and get to know something from the beauty of the nature of Mauritius. Places which are normally not the normal tourist attractions. This is just what the company Nature Trails offers.
In the morning at 7:30 am the scout Alain is already awaiting me in front of the Merville Hotel with his dark green land cruiser. After picking up another 2 guests from Maritim, Balaclava we are going straight to our first viewing point. Near Pamplemousses up on a small hill you have a view over a vale with little white houses and different fields for aggro culture surrounded by the northernmost mountain range. At this point Alain explains us the tour with his map and what we can expect from the tour. Priority is the panorama. He says that at the end of the tour you will have seen 90% of the Island.
After enough time to enjoy the view and taking pictures we are heading of to the second viewing point. Here we have a similar panorama just a little higher and a better view towards the coast. The vale and the mountains are still visible and in the distance you can even find ‘Coin de Mire’. Alain again shows us where we are with his map and impresses with a lot of knowledge about the formation of the mountains and why the north is so flat.
The third stop is already further up the mountain even if you did not notice that you went higher. From here is seems that you can almost touch the mountains and you have a good view of the second highest Mountain ‘Pieter Both’, which looks like a big stone ball is balancing on the top of the mountain.
At the forth stop you will find your self on a higher plateau. Here I find out that the tour is really exclusive because most of the viewing points are on private grounds which the average person cannot enter.
After this we are taking a break with a Family from Curepipe who hosts us with a traditional Mauritian lunch. The atmosphere is a comfortable one and the host is giving his best to make sure everyone feels welcome.
After a good meal we are driving to the second last point. From here you can see a secret waterfall. Unfortunately the waterfall has been reduced to a trickle as currently there is a water shortage. 
The last stop is 715m above sea level and the most impressive one. To reach there you have to drive up a steep, rocky road and then you reach a meadow for java deers. A few meters higher is a station with radio towers for the police here you have a breathtaking outlook. You can see as far as Le Morne with the Brabant and see the Island Ile aux Benetiers on the coast. All in all you can see a large part of the west coast from here. On one side you can see the beauty of nature and on the other side you will find big cities like Quatre Bornes, Curepipe, Rose Hill und Port Louis.
At the end of the trip Alain once again showed us with his map where we were and what we saw. The 90% promised was not too much and we were able to see almost all the coastline apart from the south east.
Nature Trails also offers other tours which depend on the place were you stay. All in all Nature Trails has 26 different viewing points and offers a numerous amount of trips. The company was founded by the German businesswomen Hannelore Riesel who discovered all the viewing points by hiking with Alain. These experiences Hannelore wanted to share with other tourist and therefore the company was born.
Because the company has only one land cruiser available the tours are already fully booked long before and that is why you should contact Hannelore in advance.
Contact:
Hannelore Riesel
Tel. (Germany): (+49) 4175 – 27 43 39
Tel. (Mauritius): (+230) 466 8072 or (+230) 5250 7406 or (+230) 5912 0313
e-Mail: [email protected]