Curepipe is a town in the central plateau of Mauritius, located at the southern end of the Port Louis-Curepipe urban corridor and the Metro Express line that runs through it. It is also called the City of Light, as it was the first Mauritian town to adopt electricity. Curepipe is known for its cool climate and vibrant, diverse culture.
While we drove through Curepipe several times, we reserved a proper visit for the last day of our two-month stay in Mauritius. We had to return our rented motorbike there, so we arrived a few hours early and used this time to explore the town a little. Here are some of the most interesting sights we discovered.
Sainte Therese Church
Situated on the main street of Curepipe (location), the Roman Catholic church of Sainte Therese is the largest church in Curepipe and one of the largest on the whole island. It was designed in a fairytale-reminiscent Gothic style by architects Rampan and Virgile Naz and was completed in 1872. The interior was frugal and featured some pretty stained glass windows.
Curepipe City Hall & Paul et Virginie Garden
A mere 100 meters down the road from the Cathedral, the Curepipe City Hall stood as one of the most elegant buildings I encountered in Mauritius. It reminded me of an impeccably maintained haunted mansion. The building is bordered by a pleasing fountain and the quaint garden of Paul et Virginie, named after Jacques-Henri Bernardin’s famous novel set in Mauritius.
Trou aux Cerfs
Meaning the Deer Hole in English, Trou aux Cerfs is a volcanic crater located about half a mile west of downtown Curepipe (location). It probably owes its name to the deer that used to inhabit it after the Dutch first introduced them to the island. This isn’t the case any longer, however.
The volcano has been dormant for approximately the last 700 millennia, and its 300-meter-wide, 90-meter-deep crater is now deluged by lush vegetation. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice any trail accessing the bottom of the crater. The path circling its periphery is a popular strolling destination for both locals and tourists. It features several viewpoints with amazing views of the crater’s interior and almost the whole of Mauritius. We also spotted a Malagasy cemetery there, the only one of its kind that I saw in the country.
Curepipe Botanic Gardens
This is Mauritius’s second-oldest and second-most important botanic garden, after the famous Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden in Pamplemousses. While not as impressive as its counterpart, it still offers a pleasant setting for a saunter, featuring plenty of rare plants, streams, and monuments.
Photos
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from Curepipe in higher resolution.
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