Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Vieille Cheminée
OFFLINE MAP
( 483 5249;
www.lavieillecheminee.com
; 1-/2-hour trail ride Rs 1300/1600)
La Vieille Cheminée, a farm
and rustic lodge, offers guided trots on horseback through the hilly countryside and along
its shady ravines.
HORSE RIDING
Parc Aventure Chamarel
OFFLINE MAP
ADVENTURE SPORTS
( 234 4533, 234 5385; parcadventure@intnet.mu; adult/child Rs 1100/550; session 9.15am, 11.15am &
1.15pm)
Tucked away in the forest within La Vallée des Couleurs, this adventure park offers
tourists a few fun thrills like ziplines, mini suspension bridges and a ropes course. Reser-
vations are required at least 24 hours in advance.
GRAND BASSIN
According to legend, Shiva and his wife Parvati were circling the earth on a contraption made from flowers when
they were dazzled by an island set in an emerald sea. Shiva, who was carrying the Ganges River on his head to
protect the world from floods, decided to land. As he did so a few drops of water dripped from his head and
landed in a crater to form a lake. The Ganges expressed unhappiness about its water being left on an uninhabited
island, but Shiva replied that dwellers from the banks of the Ganges would one day settle there and perform an
annual pilgrimage, during which water from the lake would be presented as an offering.
The dazzling island is, of course, Mauritius; the legendary craterlake is known as Grand Bassin (Ganga Talao).
It is a renowned pilgrimage site, to which up to 500,000 of the island's Hindu community come each year to pay
homage to Shiva during the Maha Shivaratri celebrations. This vast festival takes place over three days in Febru-
ary or March (depending on the lunar cycle) and is the largest Hindu celebration outside India.
The most devoted pilgrims walk from their village to the sacred lake carrying a
kanvar,
a light wooden frame
or arch decorated with paper flowers. This is no easy feat - February is Mauritius' hottest month and it almost al-
ways rains during the festivities. Once the pilgrims arrive they perform a puja
,
burning incense and camphor at
the lake shore and offering food and flowers.
Sleeping
Le Coteau Fleurie
OFFLINE MAP
( 733 3963;
www.coteaufleurie.com
;
Royal Rd, Chamarel; d incl breakfast €80; )
Plucked from the
sky-scraping ridges of Réunion, this lovely
chambre d'hôte
feels miles away from any-
thing else in Mauritius. A quaint Creole-style option, it embraces its traditional roots and
GUESTHOUSE
€€
