Mauritius – The fabulous Tea Route

Mauritius – The fabulous Tea Route

During our stay in Mauritius, we went road-tripping and we absolutely loved the freedom the car gave us. We didn’t make any plans when we left our apartment in the morning but just saw where the road took us. Some days we drove to the right and some days to the left.

#roadtrip#driving#mauritius#tearoute#flicenflac#tropicalisland#paradise#tropicalparadise#carrental#
Ready steady GO!! Road-tripping in Mauritius is a blast and you will meet stunning views everywhere.

This way of exploring the island took us, by accident, along the so-called tea route. And the tea route turned out to be one of our road-trips highlights.The route took us through the beautiful Highlands and learned us about the making of essential oils, the production of tea, the distillation of rum and the harvesting of vanilla pods. After driving through an amazingly beautiful landscape and stunning mountain formations we arrived at “Domaine des Aubineaux” a colonial house built in 1872on

#Mauritius#DomainedesAubineaux#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#
Lovely ladies mending the beautiful garden of Domaine des Aubineaux.

Nowadays the mansion is converted into an interesting museum telling the history of Mauritian Tea. The house itself is very beautiful and well preserved.As you walk through the different living rooms and bedrooms with their beautiful colonial style furniture, you almost expect to meet Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara sitting on a plush sofa and sipping their five o’clock tea.

#Mauritius#DomainedesAubineaux#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#
The old living rooms in the residential house are beautifully furnished and we had a clear feeling of being beamed back to colonial times.

You can book a guided tour through the premises but its also perfectly fine to do it by your self. During your stay its also possible to visit a small factory where they produce essential oils made out of different leaves from endemic trees. These oils are used in lotions, creams, and soaps.

#Mauritius#DomainedesAubineaux#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#essentialoil#
The small onsite factory where essential oils are made from different herbs from the estate gardens.

After visiting Aubineaux we tripped along the beautiful panoramic route to our next stop Bois Cheri. Bois Cheri is the first and biggest tea producer in Mauritius, operating since 1892. The tea factory is situated right in the middle of a vast tea plantation.

#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction
The beautiful tea fields of Bois Cheri are a delight to the eye. We were fascinated by the well groomed plantation.

How fascinating it was to learn about tea production. We had now an idea about the slow and cumbersome process tea production is. Next time we have a cup we will definitely appreciate it a bit more.

#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction#teapickers
The tea pickers are working in the fields from early morning till noon. It must be a hard way of life but everywhere we were met by happy smiling faces.
#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction
The tea leaves have to dry out for 24 hours before fermentation.

After visiting the tea fields and the factory we were offered a tea tasting of 12 different teas produced at Bois Cheri.

#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction
After a visit to the tea factory, we were offered a tea tasting of 11 different teas. Our top favorite teas turned out to be the ones with coconut and ginger.
#Mauritiusi#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#Grandbassin#hindutemple#hindu
Grand Bassin is a crater lake about 550 meters above sea level. The lake is said to be directly connected to the sacred river Ganges in India.

After visiting Bois Cheri you should go a bit out of route to visit the Grand Bassin also called Ganga Talao. The lake represents the mighty Ganges river in India and its Mauritius most important sacred place to the Hindu population.

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We were fascinated by the colorful devotees coming to pray and to offer. The air is heavy of incense and there is a constant soundtrack of praying bells. Every year in late February the Grand Bassin is home to the most spectacular Hindu pilgrimage in Mauritius where more than 400.000 devotees gather to commemorate the Great Night of Lord Shiva.

#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction
Mangal Mahadev is a 108 feet-tall statue of the Hindu god Shiva. The tallest statue in Mauritius and the third highest statue of Lord Shiva in the world.
#Mauritius#Boischeri#Tearoute#roadtrip#paradise#tropicalparadise#tropicalisland#teaplantation#teaproduction#saintaubin
The beautiful main building of the Saint Aubin estate. Nowadays its the home to a very nice restaurant.

Last stop on the tea route is Saint Aubin plantation. The fields of Saint Aubin have been under sugarcane cultivation since 1819.The magnificent wooden residential house at Saint Aubin was originally the home of the owners of the sugar plantation. It is said that the sugar cane produced in this corner of Mauritius is of a very good quality due to the volcanic nature of the soil and the special microclimate here.The Saint Aubin Residence is gracefully renovated and stands as a testimony of the architectural aesthetics of the colonial era. Originally the beautiful mansion was constructed of wood that came from dismantled ships. Nowadays you will find a wonderful restaurant on the patio.

#SaintAubin #mauritius #tearoute #paradise #roadtrip #tropical island #tropicalparadise
Have your lunch at the patio restaurant of Saint Aubin. They serve delicious food.

We recommend their palm-heart gratin and a cold glass of South African white wine😁. We couldn’t help feeling a bit decadent sitting in this amazing historic environment pampering ourselves with delicious food and tasty wine. We could clearly feel the breath of history.

After lunch, you can join in on a rum tasting. They make quite a lot of different rums at Saint Aubin and tasting them all will make you slightly dizzy. When going rum tasting in Mauritius you ought to arrange for a car with a driver. One day we went rum tasting and booked a car with a driver for the whole day for as little as 60 euros.

#vanilla #tearoute #mauritius #roadtrip #paradise #tropicalisland
The vanilla house of Saint Aubin. We loved learning about how one of our favorite spices is grown, harvested and processed.

We found one of the highlights at Saint Aubin to be their vanilla pod production. It was quite fascinating learning about the transformation process from vanilla orchid flower to the aromatic pod all of us love so much.After a long hot day on Mauritius roads and a delicious late lunch at Saint Aubin, we only had one thing in our heads. A nice cool dip in the crystal clear water at St. Felix. It’s only a relatively short drive from the estate to one of our top-favorite beaches in the south of the island.

#tearoute #mauritius #roadtrip #paradise #tropicalisland #Saintfelix #beach
Mauritius is a beach heaven. There are so many beautiful tropical stretches of white powdery sand and turquoise water. Saint Felix in the far south became one of our favorites. Here you can almost feel like Robinson Crusoe on his deserted paradise island.
Good to know
  • Don’t pay more than 20 Euros pr. day for a rental car
  • Driving in Mauritius is on the left-hand side of the road
  • It is possible to use the offline mobile maps of maps.me. However, we experienced that some of the smaller roads and some of the new roads close to the airport didn’t show on maps.me. Do not worry, you will not get lost. This free GPS-app quickly finds an alternative route.
  • Domaine des Aubineaux: admission fee 8 Euros including a guided tour and tea and scones at the cafe. Opening hours: every day 9-17.
  • Bois Cheri: Admission fee 14 Euros including a guided tour and a tea tasting. Opening hours: Monday 8.30-12.30. Tuesday till Saturday: 8.30-13.30
  • Saint Aubin: Admission fee 14 Euros including a guided tour of the grounds and a Rum tasting. Opening hours: Monday till Sunday 9-17.

Read all about PassportPlease’s adventures in Mauritius

 

 

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Mauritius Tea route gallery – just enjoy or click for next image

                  

 

2 thoughts on “Mauritius – The fabulous Tea Route

  1. Love this informational guide! I plan to visit Mauritius and a few African countries for my birthday next year. Great tips! Can’t wait to try the tea!

    1. Hi Tee
      We are happy that our article gives you useful information. Mauritius is a wonderful island and its the perfect spot for a birthday. Feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
      Best regards
      Anders & Henrik, PassportPlease

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