SSR Botanic Garden

SSR Botanic Garden

SSR Botanic Garden
4
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
About
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden (SSRBG) covers an area of about 37.5 hectares constituting of various attractions in terms of flora and fauna of both terrestrial and aquatic origins. The origin of the SSRBG dates back to the French period. In 1736, the French Governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais, chose to set up his domain around the present Main Gate of the garden. In 1767 the French Intendant Pierre Poivre, the creator of the garden, introduced vegetables, fruits, flowers and spices from all over the world. It is the oldest Botanic Garden of the southern hemisphere.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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  • Odyssey62714285317
    1 contribution
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Discriminant price, magnificent trees
    1000% more on the entry price for a non-Mauritian! If this were practiced in France towards foreigners visiting tourist sites, it would be punishable by the courts for discrimination. Otherwise, the name signs for the varieties of trees are often non-existent, illegible, and the maintenance leaves something to be desired in terms of the collection of plants that litter the paths. Quite a lot of rubbish thrown on the ground despite the trash cans and not picked up by staff. The trees are splendid and have nothing to do with it, but it is only to them that we owe this rejuvenating and energy-regenerating nature.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written March 1, 2024
  • Vivianne
    9 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous
    Gorgeous I recommend to Take a guide who will help you discover the scents of the trees among others For 2nd it is not worth depriving yourself of it On the other hand, take your WC precautions! It's a shame to have such disgusting sanitary facilities in such an environment and I'm far from reality I'm lowering my rating because of this.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 20, 2024
  • Vishal
    Western Cape, South Africa241 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Peace and tranquility
    SSR Botanic Garden in Mauritius offers a serene escape into nature's embrace. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted with the option of self-touring with a provided map or engaging a knowledgeable guide. The garden boasts breathtaking scenery, with lush greenery and vibrant blooms painting a picturesque backdrop. One of the highlights is encountering the gentle presence of deers and tortoises roaming freely within the grounds secured perimeter location, adding a delightful touch of wildlife to the experience. Whether you're a nature enthusiast or simply seeking tranquility, SSR Botanic Garden promises an unforgettable journey through Mauritius's natural wonders.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written April 3, 2024
  • Victoria Greenough
    Brighton, United Kingdom54 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great way to spend a day
    This is a lovely way to while away a few hours. The site is pretty big and if it’s been rainy, make sure you take big spray. There are lots of interesting trees including several varieties of palm and many spice trees. There are also some fruit bats who enjoy the coconut palms, which you can see when you visit. The highlight has to be the lily pond. Just fantastic!
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 4, 2024
  • Thib971
    Le Gosier, Guadeloupe1,685 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Failing maintenance, left abandoned
    I had wanted to see this garden for a long time because it was renowned as one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. My Mauritian cousins, however, told me that it was not interesting to see it at the moment because it was very poorly maintained...and that's true. It's sad to see because we suspect that if well maintained it would be a marvel! The trees are magnificent, the water lilies too but as said in other reviews, rubbish litters the ground everywhere, the ponds are dirty, the grass a little crazy....it's as if it was abandoned. I hope that those who manage the garden will take control of this and that when I come back it will have regained its splendor!
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 7, 2024
  • Ange T
    18 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Superb, captivating ride
    In view of the Trip Advisor comments, we were reluctant to go there but we went and didn't regret it at all!! Excellent guide (who makes us smell the scents of the leaves and bark) very well maintained garden, no rubbish on the ground. Not far away, leaving the garden, there is one of the oldest churches on the island (where you will find the famous sculpture of Paul and Virginie!) and one of the oldest cemeteries.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 27, 2024
  • Janine P
    Red Deer, Canada3,317 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Beautiful Oasis
    We self drove and had free parking for the gardens. Entrance is to the right of the lot, and payment was 300/adult. If you pay cash, bring bills smaller than 1000. Once in the park, be prepared to be approached to hire a guide for 75/person. We were told the English tour had just started so ran to join in. Guide did speak English, but mostly French. Learned a lot as we made our way around the park. Guided tour is about an hour. You are free to wander on your own.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 29, 2024
  • worldtraveller77
    London, United Kingdom89 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Delightful
    Mixed reviews so we nearly didn’t go but it is a lovely oasis in a hot climate. Huge variety of stunning trees to calm one’s soul. We are an intergenerational family from tots to grandparents so there was something for each of us. It is well kept with some areas a little wilder which adds to the variety. The lily pond is stunning. Would have liked to have spent longer there- just pottering amongst the vegetation. Children were very happy as able to run about and touch lots of different textures - no plastic playpark thank goodness - although there are enclosures with deer and tortoises. More fun is to spot brightly coloured lizards etc in the wild
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written May 15, 2024
  • Fanny D
    Le Havre, France152 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful place spoiled by unfriendly staff
    Beautiful garden that we walked through. The vegetation is magical, especially the white lotus flowers and giant water lilies. Big downside regarding the friendliness of the staff. In particular the person at the checkout who kept telling us: it's 600, it's 600, it's 600 while we were counting our rupees, obviously she couldn't wait to go back to social networks on her phone. And what about the guides who insist heavily on accompanying us for 2 euros per person, knowing that we have to wait until there are 10 people, and angrily send you away when we decline their offer 5 times... Too bad it spoils the magic of the place
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 18, 2024
  • Markybug73
    Perth, United Kingdom233 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A relaxing and peaceful visit is guaranteed here.
    This is a nice spot for a hour or so, you don't get to see a huge part of the garden, but enough to get a feel for it. Again this was a stop off on our TUI day trip. plenty of photo opportunities at the gardens water features.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 19, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles7,721 reviews
Excellent
3,088
Very good
3,080
Average
1,144
Poor
291
Terrible
118

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

Alice
44 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2024 • Couples
Large car park, went early in the day to avoid crowds and heat, for 75 rupees you can join a guide which I recommend. Guides are multilingual and very informative. Ours was fun and also had us smelling and touching leaves, bark etc as well as drawing our attention to things we would definitely have missed (the park could do with more info signs). It’s a very large site and even going as soon as it opened and in the winter season, it got very hot and I found an hour was more than enough. Loved seeing the giant tortoises but was concerned at the lack of vegetation and space they had. The colonial mansion is currently being turned into a museum so is closed. The main draw, of course, is the planting and there are truly exceptional specimens here that are just astonishing - seeing how your house plants grow in the wild is mind blowing!
Written September 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sylvie M
Croth, France16 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
Very nice park, we had a great time. We learned lots of things there. I recommend taking a guide, if you want to know the names of the trees and their history, plus they are very nice and it only costs 75 rupees. Little advice, remember to take mosquito repellent 🦟, I personally didn't think about it, result in around forty bites in 2h30 🤪
Google
Written November 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jo M
196 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Visited about a week ago. Sadly the weather was poor, very rainy, which probably gave us a worse view of the place than maybe we might have had if it’d been lovely and sunny.
We joined a small group with a guide as we’d read having a guide was a good idea. It would’ve been fine but within minutes another load of people joined so our group was about 20 people, mostly French speaking. The guide, therefore, spent most time speaking French and then repeating stuff in English. It wasn’t easy to understand him. He kept sheltering us in huts, which I understand, but it was for like 20/25 minutes at a time, which was so boring.
The place seems nice enough and on a lovely sunny day is prob really enjoyable.
We wished we had just gone it alone without the guide.
Would say it’s worth a visit but in good weather and not sure bother with a guide unless you are lucky enough to be in a small group.
Written August 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

melainou
19 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Since we went there during the southern winter, the flowers were wilted and the trees were starting to lose their leaves. The garden is very poorly maintained on the one hand but what shocked me the most were the deer... these poor animals are crowded into a dilapidated enclosure, have nothing to eat, the water is stagnant and they were all curled up under an arbor all frail. There was a baby who was very thin and could starve, it's a shame, I hope that the money from the cost of entry will be used to care for these poor animals and find them a larger plot of land. I am terribly disappointed because everyone had pointed me to a magnificent place but the animals are poorly treated!!!!
Google
Written August 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EmJ
London, UK6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Couples
A lovely way to spend a few hours, definitely recommend joining a tour when you get to the gardens - the authorised guides wait by the entrance, no need to book in advance & they provide excellent value for money in showing you around the gardens & explaining all of the different plant species you will see. It would be a pleasant enough place to wander around yourself but having the interpretation added another dimension, learning the plant names and uses, which ones are worth smelling!, marvelling at the sizes and ages of some and feeling privileged to see a palm in bloom that takes 100 years to flower just once. The collection is a mix of some native species but also exotic species collected by French and English botanists over the centuries those nations governed the island. The gardens are a piece of history in themselves, we also took some time to walk around the ‘Mon Plaisir’ house (you can’t go inside, but look at the building from the outside) and read all the plaques on the trees nearby planted by various visiting dignitaries over the decades since Mauritius has been an independent nation, and the samadhi of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam himself, this is an important place for modern Mauritius as well.

There is a small animal area with a few Aldabra tortoises to see - these are the Seychellois species that was introduced to replace the endemic species that went extinct - they do fulfil an important part of the ecosystem, spreading plant seeds in the forest, if you want to see them in a more naturalistic setting I recommend the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation’s ecotour to Ile Aux Aigrettes where you can see them as they should be, doing their job to help preserve & maintain the native habitat. The Aldabran tortoises were bought to Mauritius at the behest of Charles Darwin who feared for their future on Aldabra, so seeing any of these creatures is a lovely link to history. There is also a deer pen, and easy to spot wildlife in the gardens include various common bird species (mynah, bulbuls, red/cardinal fody) as well as the Mauritian flying fox (fruit bat).

The gardens were easy to drive to independently & parking is free, as an aside we definitely recommend hiring a car for your stay in Mauritius, driving is easy (on the left, roads are decent and other drivers generally safe and courteous) and it gives you complete freedom to explore as you please and not just be restricted to where a tour will take you. Our car hire for the whole week cost us a little more than 1 day tour for 2 people + the taxi to/from the airport/hotel, we also hired a wifi box with the car which meant we could use our phones as SatNav & look up any info we needed online at any time to facilitate our adventures.

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Written November 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nantest
Paris, France216 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
We have been visiting this garden regularly since 2007. Each time we see a deterioration. And 2024 will be the last time.

Apart from the ticket office that works (or snowshoes) tourists, everything is almost abandoned. Even the welcome and the smile at the reception no longer exist in this public service. 1 hour before we were in Labourdonnais. and we understand the interest of private management for the entrerien of a place and for visitors. There, no sign of the alleys, the panels at the feet of the trees illegible with time, bridge work started never finished, rubbish everywhere, piles of leaves never collected, rakes that hang around everywhere, palms in the middle of the alleys to span, the statue of Paul and Virginia disappeared (rest of the base), poorly maintained basins, animals abused in unworthy enclosures, ...

All this while this garden is reported as exceptional (it has been true), that hundreds of visitors come every day.
It's not normal that you need an extra Guide to understand something. And that in no way takes away the decrepitude of this garden.

What a bad image for this island we love. Where's she going, not looking after her jewels?

Shameful, and unfortunately in the image of a general atmosphere that has been perceived on the island for a few years.

Yeah, I really wish him a good time.
Automatically translated
Written October 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Severine
Marseille, France57 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Very large garden, nice to see but not essential
Good for seeing the giant water lilies
It takes a long time to visit it, the plan is difficult to understand
You can always take a guide who waits for you at the entrance for around €2 per visit which lasts 45min
You have to love trees, plants
Not great animals, a few turtles locked in a small enclosure and some deer too
Better at Vanilla Park for animals
Google
Written December 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Other L
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Couples
Amazing. We were lucky enough to have a guide and buggy tour, and I recommend this to get the most out of the park.
Raja, our guide told us all about the gardens history, and each tree, it's origins, and facts about it.
He was so amazing that he really brought the whole experience alive, as a lot of the garden is trees... which sounds like it could be dull, but the guide was so knowledgeable this became our favourite excursion in mauritius.
Guide is 100% a must
Written August 25, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

travelblaster42
Victoria, Canada175 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Family
It’s 300RS a person which is reasonable. Free for Mauritian citizens. Lots of cool trees and foliage. An enclosure for deer (a bit small) as well as tortoises. The crowning jewel is the giant water lilies which is very unique and photogenic. All members of our party enjoyed the time spent here

However, the reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 is that there is a bit of unfulfilled potential. There are some dead of dying trees that need to be cleared. Signage is poor. Some garbage in the rivers. I think this could easily be 5 stars and is close but there is room to improve

All in all I would recommend this place if you love nature and greenery
Written May 24, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

coop1973
Hillsborough, UK115 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
We thoroughly enjoyed our morning at the gardens. After reading other reviews we paid the small additional amount for a guide and I'd definitely recommend this. Our guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out so many things we would never have known about otherwise. We had 3 or 4 different nationalities in our group and the guide spoke in all languages!
Written October 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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SSR Botanic Garden - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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