Sports and leisure activities South

This beautiful 1,300-hectare reserve is the most upscale on the island in terms of services and activities, making it a fabulous place to indulge in green tourism. The concept: quad, buggy, 4x4 or walking (hiking and trekking) excursions that combine learning and entertainment around the flora, fauna and history, in the company of trained guides. Ecosystems and landscapes are varied - rivers, waterfalls, deer, wild boar, birds, etc. For lunch, choose between a typical and inexpensive restaurant or an exclusive picnic on a private site.

This ultra-dynamic leisure park, designed to welcome individuals as well as groups, is run by young, multilingual teams bursting with energy. It's built around 23 unique coloured earths, discovered in 1998 by a Mauritian geologist and originating from the eruptions of the Bassin Blanc volcano. Under the effect of erosion, ash heaps of different metallic and chemical compositions have been altered and developed a palette of 23 colors ranging from dark red to pale yellow, mauve, bluish and greenish. This curiosity is just one of the many reasons to visit the Vallée des Couleurs Nature Park, which offers a wide range of activities.

Quad bikes and buggies. The classic, leisurely one-hour ride (1.5 hours with stops and photo breaks) takes you around the 23-colored lands and past other curiosities (turtle enclosures, waterfalls...). The more challenging two-hour tour leads to a river and climbs into the mountains.

Tyrolean traverse and Nepalese bridge. You'll fly over the estate via several zip lines (11 in all, with a choice of several routes), including the longest line in the Indian Ocean, over 1,500 metres. The latter is descended headfirst, suspended by the back in a prone position, and is one of the park's finest activities! The longest Nepalese bridge in this part of the world also gets the adrenalin pumping for 350 metres.

Bicycle zip-line. Unique to Mauritius, this activity offers the sensation of pedaling on a cable 18 meters above the ground, while chatting with your neighbor as four lines are stretched in parallel! Great photo opportunities!

Other activities are available, some of which (not all) are included in the price of the entrance ticket: go-kart sledging, signposted walks, mini-farm, large playground, private 4x4 tours, small museum, etc.

Three restaurant-lodges open out onto nature, offering lunch on site. La Citronelle offers Asian-Mauritian cuisine, with a choice of 3-course menus and several varieties of sizzler. La Bigarade is a huge restaurant featuring Mauritian and European cuisine, more suited to groups (themed buffets). Le Chamouzé, with its terrace overlooking a superb waterfall, is the fast-food option. The new Kasmaël bar offers a 360° view!

Totof is a local figure and a pioneer of tourism in the bay. 20 years ago, he had the idea to build a glass-bottomed boat to discover the wonders of the most beautiful marine park in Mauritius. The boat is still there, with the addition of motorboats to discover Ile aux Cerfs and/or the islets of the South-East with Vanessa and Virginie, Totof's daughters who have taken over: picnics and BBQ, swimming, lazing around, snorkeling... all personalized to the maximum, far from mass tourism.

This old domain still shelters beautiful pieces of primary forest and in particular ebony trees of more than 300 years having escaped, thanks to their inaccessibility, the ravages of the man. During a short and easy walk on marked trails, you will discover several varieties of endemic trees. The domain also offers a choice of sports activities allowing you to discover the forest in a more active and fun way: archery on 3D targets, zip lines and Nepalese bridge, via ferrata, horseback riding, etc. Supervision by trained guides.

A special mention for this 36-seater catamaran, the only one in Mauritius to use renewable energy - solar panels to recharge the batteries and hydro-electric regeneration by the propellers. We appreciate the environmental awareness and the quality requirements of the teams during the daily cruises organized between Mahébourg and Ile aux Cerfs, via the estuary of Grande Rivière Sud Est. BBQ buffet lunch on board, snorkeling, time to relax and enjoy water sports at Ile aux Cerfs.

This is the best Mauritian school of wingfoil, the trendy board sport, a subtle combination of SUP and kite which is practiced with a small board equipped with a foil (to fly above the water) and a wing (or directional wing not connected to the board and which is held by a boom or handles). The learning process is relatively simple and fast, especially under the guidance of Jean de Falbaire (Mauritius champion, in contention for the 2024 Paris Olympics) and his instructors.

Less known than the Morne in the south-west or the lagoon of Anse la Raie in the north, much less frequented as well (it is one of its assets), the spot of the Pointe d'Esny-Mahébourg is nevertheless ideal for the practice of wingfoil and board sports in general. We are on the largest lagoon in Mauritius, a huge body of water blessed with regular winds and whose depth rarely exceeds two meters. The foilers love it and often meet in this shallow part called the pool which has hosted the Hydrofoil Pro Tour several times.

For beginners the conditions are ideal, but also to progress, or simply to have fun, especially during downwinds and foil expeditions of several hours proposed by the club which is pleased to be able to propose "a 30 kilometers board"!

Of course, you can rent equipment on site and take advantage of it to test the latest Duotone brand. If the wind sulks and/or the weather is gloomy, the center offers several alternative activities: SUP, wakeboarding, wakefoiling.

A child of Mahébourg, Jean Claude, with the help of his faithful second Robert, is the only boatman on the island to offer 100% sailing trips on a wooden pirogue specially designed for leisure sailing. Larger than average, stable and equipped with a colorful sail, the boat can accommodate up to 6 people for exclusive outings to be booked as a duo, with family or friends. People come from all over the island for this beautiful excursion and to share a typical moment with Jean Claude and Robert who are outstanding skippers who know how to combine the pleasure of sailing with a unique experience. We are in the heart of the largest lagoon of the island, under the care of Jean Claude who was a windsurfing and swimming champion and takes us diving with mask, in complete safety, on his own sites. Whether it's in the morning or in the late afternoon until sunset, the walk is always punctuated by a break for drinks and snacks - good wine and homemade snacks.

In the same spirit, Eric, Jean Claude's son, organizes private day trips by speedboat to Ile aux Cerfs via the islets of the South East. An accomplished fisherman and sailor, Eric, like his father, has a great knowledge of the sea that he shares with a small number of vacationers each day by mixing cultural discovery of the sites of the Southeast, snorkeling on spots, and lunch with his feet in the water on a "secret" beach.

It is the most spacious catamaran on the island, a mythical racing boat that has sailed the oceans under the leadership of great sailors such as Florence Arthaud. An exceptional boat, exclusive services for day cruises, much more upscale than the average: number of seats limited to 24 people for larger spaces, lounges, bean bags, bar, more varied choice of beverages and finer dishes, wider range of activities (including giant buoy and paddle). VIP service and staggered hours for less traffic. Great!

In Mauritius, everyone knows the dolphins of Tamarin, but few know that other groups frolic between Bel Ombre and Le Morne without the hindrance of incessant traffic like in the West. Namori organizes exclusive observation sessions on private boats (10 people max.) with snorkelling and a trip to Tamarin if the dolphins aren't in Le Morne. For day trips, the skipper pushes on to Roche Crystal and then to the islet of Bénitier for lunch. A leisurely return to the lagoon along this beautiful, unspoilt southern coastline.

New in 2023: under the name Heritage Golf Club, not one but two 18-hole golf courses (Le Château Golf Course and the Reserve Golf Links) will share the slopes of the superb Domaine de Bel Ombre behind the Heritage hotels, offering amateurs and pros alike an exceptional golfing destination in a beautiful landscape. Open to all (which will not be the case for the Links) and elected 8 years in a row as the best course in the Indian Ocean, Le Château Golf Course, Par 72 designed by Peter Matkovitch, hosts every two years the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open, a tournament bringing together three of the most important international circuits: the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour Golfers have the pleasure of playing on a European Tour course, both technical and visually stunning as it is set in a hilly environment with beautiful views over the ocean. To learn or improve, the Château Golf Course offers personalized packages: discovery sessions, private lessons or real golfing vacations with a course accompanied by a PGA France member instructor. Also a Golf Package allowing to discover the Links and 3 other Mauritian golf courses.

On site: chipping green, driving range, putting green, 9-hole Par 3, golf academy and club house with changing rooms, Pro Shop, bar and restaurant. And for children from 4 years old: an association with SNAG (Starting New At Golf), a method to learn while having fun.

This very good center is run by Mukesh Buldewa who manages several other clubs around the island. Open to PADI and CMAS divers, it offers serious training in these two schools, as well as explorations on all the surrounding sites. Children are welcome from 7 years old. For freediving enthusiasts, the club also offers snorkelling lessons. Another branch in the area, at the Peninsula Bay Resort in Blue Bay, under the name of Blue World Explorer Mauritius - www.blueworldexplorer.com

In addition to hosting ecolodges, La Vieille Cheminée is the only place on the island where you can ride horses in this beautiful southern vegetation - better than on most of the often narrow beaches, and better than elsewhere because the place is hilly, punctuated by plantations and bits of forest, dotted with red-feraille paths. No other tourists around, the place is private and the rides are limited to 4 experienced riders: a privilege. Also short rides for beginners.

Designed by Peter Matkovitch, this par 72 course of 6,200 meters long is the only 18-hole championship course located in the heights and not on the seashore. The course is set in a green landscape of hills, rivers, ravines, tea plantations, etc. unique to Mauritius. The Club House offers several activities to accompanying persons: spa, swimming pool, tennis, volleyball, hiking, mountain biking etc. On site: driving range, putting green, chipping green, Pro Shop, individual and group lessons, golf academy for children (SNAG method), large restaurant.

Big Foot's speciality: quad biking not on private land with marked trails, but in the very heart of Mauritius, on coastal paths and inland tracks. Welcome to the small roads of the South: its villages, its fabulous coastal paths skirting the cliffs, its wild inlands dotted with waterfalls, its more athletic forest trails, its cane fields where you can hit top speed... A varied 2h and 18 km route, and two other circuits of 3h (30 km) and 5h (35 km) with picnic breaks for enthusiasts.

It's the only diving club in this part of Mauritius, open to all, including hotels in the area. Well-equipped, it offers all PADI, SSI and CMAS courses from age 7, as well as first dives, day and night dives and snorkeling courses. Instructors are highly qualified and well-informed. Other branches of the same group (same rates, same services) in the west at Flic en Flac at the Hotel Anelia and in the east at Solana Beach.

Here's a quality club located on an ideal spot for progress: vast lagoon, cross-shore wind, uncrowded area and offshore waves for experts. Lessons at all levels for everyone aged 7 and over, taught by experienced IKO or VDWS-certified instructors. Also kite equipment rental, windsurfing lessons, surfing lessons on nearby Sancho and Macondé islets - ideal spots for beginners.

The club also rents out paddles, offers wake sessions and exclusive private boat trips (fishing, sunset), including dolphin trips.

One Love's fuchsia pink speedboats cruise the turquoise lagoon of the south and offer the colours of a beautiful day of discovery of one of the most fabulous coastal areas of Mauritius. In the morning, snorkeling in the marine park of Blue Bay or Trou Moutou, then exploration of the islets of the South-East, navigation to the waterfall of Grand Rivière Sud-Est (with swimming on the site), lunch at Ile aux Cerfs, then relaxation and swimming near Ile aux Aigrettes on the way back. Privatization possible on request (full boat).

This new course is located on the same estate as the Château Golf Course, making it the only 45-hole golf destination in the Indian Ocean. Nestled alongside the Bel Ombre biosphere (a UNESCO site), with panoramic ocean views from every hole, it is the first contemporary links course in this part of the world, co-designed by champion Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen emphasizes the spectacular nature of the course, which he describes as "dramatic, different and totally unique". The course features a Leadbetter Golfzon Academy.