Travel Guide Île Aux Cerfs
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Ile aux Cerfs is, along with Jardin de Pamplemousses and Terre de Sept Couleurs Geopark, the most visited place in Mauritius. Once upon a time, it must have been a paradise... before the tourists arrived en masse and partially denatured this pretty piece of land. Under the filaos, snack bars, tents and trinket stalls now occupy the space. And the lagoon is criss-crossed by an incessant ballet of boats of all kinds - fishing boats, catamarans, dinghies... At the height of the season, it's crowded, and the shopkeepers take advantage. Fortunately, the number of tourists is limited and concentrated mainly around the landing stage. If you walk a little along the coastline, if you take the time to cross the island along its shady footpaths, you'll still find some beautiful, quiet beaches. Yes, if you can ignore the tourist crowds, Ile aux Cerfs is well worth the trip, with its pretty coves protected by filaos, its secret coves nestling in the mangrove, its tiny islets encircling it like a jewel case. If you take a boat trip around the island, you'll pass through wilder areas where it's not uncommon to spot local fishermen stretching out their nets for a seine. The magic of color and a lush, indented coastline... Even the most touristy section is splendid: this sandy lagoon, rounding like a drop and forming the appearance of a white pearl against the jade of the lagoon. An almost mythical place, with a place name full of anecdotes... It is said that in the early 1900s, during the hunting season, deer, numerous on the private territories of the nearby coastline, would sometimes venture ashore to cross the inlet to the island and escape the trackers. In those days, as reported by the press of yesteryear, the fishermen, who were hardly ever invited to the great battues orchestrated by the Franco-Mauritians, would capture the deer during their final swim across. This providential game meat brightened up daily life. To the irritated hunters, the fishermen argued that the animals no longer belonged to anyone at sea! Even today, antlers adorn the living rooms of some fishermen's houses, a reminder of a bygone era... Of course, the deer have fled in the face of the tourist influx, but it is said that on certain evenings, at low tide, they return to spend the night on the island... A pretty popular legend.
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