Introducing The North

Mauritius' tourism panache started in the north, and today there's plenty on offer for visitors. Although most of the area's spectacular beaches have been claimed by hotel construction, it's never hard to get away from it all and discover the little nooks that remain largely untouched by development.

Grand Baie is the eye of the tourist storm, boasting Mauritius' best nightlife and some of the island's most excellent restaurants. The small beachside villages around Grand Baie – Trou aux Biches, Mont Choisy and Pereybère – are quickly developing in a similar fashion.

The inland plain of sugar-cane fields – pocked with piles of volcanic boulders stacked by indentured servants – is known as Pamplemousses and gently slopes towards the sea. Here you'll find the wonderful Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens and the rightly popular L'Aventure du Sucre – a museum dedicated to Mauritius' traditional colonial export.