Best National Parks in Mauritius

Mauritius's only large national park, covering the forested uplands of the southwest and holding almost all the native forest left on the main island. More than 60 km of marked trails run through it, from short loops at the Petrin and Black River visitor centres to a full traverse. It is the last refuge of birds pulled back from the brink: the Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Mauritius fody all live here, along with Mauritian flying foxes. Alexandra Falls and the Gorges viewpoint are reachable by car. How to Reach: About an hour by road from Port Louis, with the Plaine Champagne road crossing the park. Best Time to Visit: May to November, the cooler and drier half of the year

A small park in the northeast near Poste Lafayette, and the quiet counterpart to Black River Gorges: about five square kilometres of largely planted forest, with the Mare Sarcelle wetland taking up a good part of it. The trails are flat, well marked and easy, roughly four kilometres in total with picnic tables along the way, so it is a gentle morning rather than a hike. It holds a population of the Mauritius flycatcher, and the Mauritius Radio Telescope stands inside the boundary alongside old sugar mill and lime kiln ruins. How to Reach: About 45 minutes by road northeast of Port Louis. Best Time to Visit: May to November

Mauritius's third national park is not one place but eight of the islets scattered off the coast, protected because several still hold plants and reptiles long since lost from the mainland. Ile d'Ambre in the northeast lagoon is the largest and the only one most visitors reach: about 140 hectares fringed with mangrove rather than sand, crossed by an easy trail past old ruins and volcanic ground. Kayaking the mangrove channels is the usual way to see it. Round Island and the other reserves are closed to the public. How to Reach: Boats and kayak tours to Ile d'Ambre leave from Poudre d'Or on the northeast coast. Best Time to Visit: May to November

Not on Mauritius itself but on Rodrigues, 560 km northeast, and a nature reserve rather than a national park, included here because it is the most important protected site in the country's outer islands. Its 25 hectares hold the last remnant of Rodrigues's native forest, replanted over decades from a handful of surviving trees. The Rodrigues fruit bat, Rodrigues warbler and Rodrigues fody survive here and nowhere else, and a small research and education centre displays remains of the extinct solitaire. How to Reach: In the centre of Rodrigues, a short drive from Port Mathurin; Rodrigues is a 90-minute flight from Mauritius. Best Time to Visit: May to November