With the rush of the summer holidays, I seem to find a lot of you favoring a trip to Mauritius. One general query that I seem to be getting – Is there anything for kids? Are there any safaris that you can take them to? There are just tons of things to do in Mauritius as a family but when it come to wildlife safaris, let me admit that Mauritius does not have a diverse endemic wildlife as compared to many of the other African nations. A lot of their animals are near extinction or are already extinct – like the famous dodo bird. There are a few nature safaris that you could opt for, but they are likely to leave you thirsty for more. Besides for kids, you might want to consider an interactive encounter with the wildlife in the safe environment of the nature parks of Mauritius.
Nature Parks of Mauritius:
The nature parks of Mauritius are not just about wildlife. They offer you plenty of other entertainment options that make it fun for a family with kids. From water activities and petting corner for younger kids to the adventure activities for an older one, the safe and entertaining environment within this parks sometimes merits a complete day in your itinerary to enjoy it all. Here are three nature parks of Mauritius that are likely to appeal to you for a kid-friendly holiday in Mauritius.
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Casela Nature Park
If you look up any of the Mauritius Tour Packages, the one place that is included in most itineraries is Casela Park. I would not call it a zoo, nor a safari nor an adventure park. To me, it includes all these. Depending on your family interests, you can opt for one of their 4 packages – Explorer, Safari, Family or Extreme. Alternately, you can create your own list of things to do – from animal feeding to avalanche rides, pony rides, friendly fishing and more. Among the many things that I experienced at the Casela Nature Park, here are a few that I liked –
Giraffe Feeding at Casela Nature Park
These gentle creatures have the most expressive and gorgeous eyes. Just as I scooped up a palmful of their meal, they craned their long necks, urging me to hurry up with their treats. All the while I could not get my eyes off their golden coats and the warm black, innocent eyes. It was indeed fun getting close and personal with the giraffes.
A short safari to find the Rhinos and the Ostriches
Get into the canter and look out for the wildlife of Mauritius. I was fortunate to spot two rhinos knocking at each other and then there were the mischievous ostriches who chased the canter and pecked at the bars to express their indignation. To what? I know not.
The evident thrill of the kids was evident in this safari with their squeals at the antics of the Ostrich. Whatever the case, they sure left a place in the hearts of these kids.
If you are a little bolder, try the Casela Quad biking safari for an even closer encounter!
The free birds of Casela Nature Park
While you stand in a queue for your ride or just walk around the park, you will spot plenty of winged beauties, flying around with straws in their beaks to make these lovely nests.
Peacocks and Peahens, of all sizes, just roam around freely, some of them even attempting to draw your attention to them. If their calls don’t work, they will ensure they preen and dance in front of you.
There are plenty of other attractions here. For a full list, just click through the Casela website. You can even plan your day online and book your activities here. The Casela Nature Park is open every day between 9 am to 5 pm
La Vanille Nature Park of Mauritius
Quite different from the Casela Nature Park, the La Vanille Nature Park is all about meeting the wise old giant tortoises, playing with the farm animals and discovering the fearsome crocodiles. The park also treats you to one of the largest private collection of insects in the world.
And then there are monkeys, iguanas , bats, deer and more – a visual treat for the kids for sure. My favorite was meeting the baby tortoise.
Besides the petting and feeding sessions with the animals, you can even explore their fossil section with the kids. They have some really rare ammonites on display and suddenly, explaining that all to the kids becomes interesting and easy.
Visiting this park is quite easy and will require just half a day. Though the park opens at 8:30 am every day, I recommend that you visit between 11:00 am and 1 pm to join in for the tortoise feeding. To get more information on this park, visit the La Vanille Nature Park website here.
La Vallee des Couleurs Nature Park
I had mentioned this park as one of the key wedding destinations in Mauritius. However, the La Vallee des Couleurs is much more than that. This is more of experiencing nature through an adventure. Quad biking, zip lining or walking along the Nepalese bridge – each of these takes you around on a tour of their natural wonders. The 23 colored earth is the central point, where you can try to spot 23 unique colors of the earth.
Along the way, you can stop by to admire the magical cascades. Sadly, you are not allowed to swim to those but you sure can dip your toes here.
The biggest thrill for the kids would be the animal enclosures where they can just hop across to the animals. The tortoise here were huge and one of my favorites. As were the preening peacocks and the cute white ducks. La Vallee des Couleurs does provide you with the apt environment for some family fun with kids.
The park is open every day between 9 am to 5 pm.
You can read my travel guide on Mauritius for information on how to get around Mauritius.
From my end, that is it for now. I am pretty sure that with one of these parks, you are bound to make some lovely memories with your kids. There is nothing like capturing their awe and glee when they visit the nature parks of Mauritius.
Popularly referred to as a Restless Ball of Energy. My Mom refuses to entertain my complaints about my equally restless daughter & assures my husband that I was born with a travel bug.
I am a Post-Graduate in Marketing by qualification and a travel blogger by passion. Besides travel, I enjoy photography and if you don’t find me at my desk, I would be out playing badminton or swimming or just running. I believe in planning for every long weekend through the year. And when I cannot travel physically, I travel virtually through this travel blog. My travel stories have also, got published on various websites and magazines including BBC Travel, Lonely Planet India and Jetwings. I have recently published my first book – When Places Come Alive – a collection of stories that are based on legends, landscapes, art and culture of a place which is available in both ebook and paperback format.
That beautiful Giraffe with those innocent eyes 🙂 and the Lion chilling in the arms of freedom! What a wonderful sight, you must have loved being here 🙂
It sure was fun holding the baby tortoise. That was my favorite part.
A beautiful sight, I’m sure you must have had a gala time there! 🙂
Thanks Maitreni. I sure did.
I love this!!!! Looks like a place in Mauritius that’s really worth visiting. Also family-friendly!
Yes, it is a lovely place for all. You should definitely go.
I can definitely see why you would want to take kids to visit the nature parks in Mauritius. I love your closeups of the animals’s faces. The one of the ostrich especially cracks me up. I hope to visit there some day!
The ostrich was quite funny. You should have seen how it behaved. Cheers
This looks amazing Ami! This place would not only be perfect for kids but people like me will become kids for sometime here 😀 Just looking at your pictures got me all happy 🙂 And that 23 colour of earth place, sounds so interesting.
The 23 colored earth is quite an adventure. Mauritius in general, is quite pretty. Hope you get to go there soon.
Beautiful pictures! Didn’t expect to find this in Mauritius! Sure a fun activity to do 🙂 That croc is HUGE! woa
This is one of the smaller crocs. Mauritius is fun for all indeed!
I love the idea of experiencing nature through an adventure Ami! I’d want to go see the 23 colors of earth.
The 23 colored earth does give you a fair amount of adventure and am sure you will find plenty of spots for your photography too. You should head there Ashley
It is really a great place to take kids and get them acquainted with wildlife. It is imperative that they get to see wildlife in close quarters in their natural habitats. It would enable them to appreciate the earth and the environment and also understand the importance of all creatures on the earth.
And also, get rid of fear if any. I definitely would love to take my daughter there.
Your wildlife photography is always amazing – that Giraffe is just the most stunning thing I’ve seen! Thanks for the tips, it’s not something I would have imagined you could really do in Mauritius.
Thank you Sam. The giraffe was just so cute that it did not take too much effort on my part.
When it comes to wildlife, there’s no place better than Africa, right? Good to know, here its also kid friendly! I like the 4 options that they give for the visitors. Pretty much covers every individual’s needs!
Yes, the mainland Africa ones though give you more of indigenous wildlife. Mauritius has lesser of that and what you see is more contained. Nonetheless it is fun.
Beautiful. If I am going to go to mauritius with my daughter, casela and la vanille nature parks are surely going to be on my bucket list. The animal feeding session seems particularly exciting for kids
And for us too. Animal feeding is fun for everyone. Thanks for stopping by Neha.
This looks like my kinda place! So many fascinating animals in their natural environment. I will definitely be bookmarking this post! And I’d love to spot the 23 colors in person!
It is kinda hard spotting all 23 colors . Maybe you will have better luck. Hope you can plan a trip soon. Cheers
Meeting the baby tortoise sure looks the high point of the tour. Animal feeding would be a good time to enjoy.
I have always loved wildlife around, and hope our future generations will see them too!
I loved that Baby tortoise. I could have got him home …if I could….This place is quite well preserved and protected. Am sure you will enjoy it too Alok.
Yes, i think so too. I enjoyed a similar experience here in Florida (not that extravagant though).
They sure are adorable
Wow this place looks amazing! All photos are so beautiful. Thanks for your sharing! It’s great to learn about the wildlife via an article like this
Thank you Chi. These are lovely and friendly places.
Really good one..Good place to visit..It will give complete picture of the wildlife…Keep on writing…
THank you Andrea. Happy to share.
Excellent post! nice photos. Learn more about wildlife.
Thank for sharing such an amazing article.
Thank you so much Anju. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Nice pictures… I am also interested in Quad bike safaris.
They sure are fun.
Wow…..Superb pics . I will definitely make a visit to Mauritius….Thank you for such a wonderful article.
Thank you Milan. It is a lovely place and am sure you will have fun
Wow Superb Post!!! It’s really Amazing place. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Katherin.
Good place to visit with kids. Definitely it will be an adventures & an educational trip for them.
I agree…its a lovely outing with the family and a good initiation for the kids. Thanks for stopping by