Pamplemousse Exotic Gardens
The Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in Mauritius (officially Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden) is one of the most insanely beautiful places that I have ever visited. Its origins date back to the French colonial period when the Intendant Pierre Poivre first created the botanical garden in 1770. It is the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere and lucky for me…. It features 85 varieties of palms trees from all over the world so my heaven!!! The collection of palms is extensive, amongst them being Royal Palm, Queen Palm from Brazil, Raffia Palms from Madagascar, Lady Palm from China and the Talipot Palm, which dies after flowering with a giant flower when it is between 40 and 60 years old…. And the list just goes on.
The first time we visited the gardens we hired a guide to help us understand the history and extensive plant species, but to be honest it would take you a lifetime to really get to know this place with its wild and ancient specimen and huge expanse, you can see why it is ranked as one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
I love the spice trees and how you can collect the bark and smell the cinnamon radiating from it. You can spend hours wandering through the garden, taking photos and listening to the bamboo creek and bend in the wind. Staring upwards at a giant palm, I felt like I had been transported back to the Jurassic period as it towered above me. The peaceful and captivating surroundings are so grounding and remind me of the epic species that we stand to lose from our planet if we don’t do more to preserve and protect it. … not to get too depressing! I have also always wanted to see the giant tortoises given my family history with turtles and here you can see them slowly amble around the same way they probably did 200 years ago.. It’s hard to believe that they live for soooooo long and have peacefully watched the changes going on around them.
Another incredible natural phenomenon is the giant waterlily pond. It is filled with Victoria Amazonia water lilies, named after Queen Victoria, they are a native of the Amazon River basin and you could literally sit on one as they are so big. I draw so much inspiration from plants, botanical silhouettes and nature that this is likes walking into the Garden of Eden where the detail is endless.
Photographer | Photo credits: Cabinet Jewellery
