L'Aventure du Sucre is a sugar museum located in Pamplemousses, Mauritius. The museum is housed in the old Beau Plan Sugar Factory which used to operate from the 18th to the 20th century. The highlight is an interactive tour with giant screens and films. A kids tour is also available for 2 to 6 years olds. The visit also includes a free tasting of more than 30 products at le Village Boutik including 12 unrefined brown sugars, rums of the New Grove House, jams and honey.
The L'Aventure du Sucre is located in one of the most beautiful sites in Mauritius with bougainvillaea and coconut palm avenue and a lush lake. A booklet is available at the museum entrance for children between 7 and 12 years which includes games and puzzles related to the history of Mauritius and the sugarcane. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions. Le Fangourin is a beautiful restaurant with verdant surroundings located in the midst of the Beau Plan Estate.
The easiest way to reach L’Aventure du Sucre is to drive for 15 minutes from Port Louis on the M2 motorway that heads to Pamplemousses. When you get to the roundabout, take the first exit towards the B18. The Sugar Museum will be to your right.
Historical Background of the Sugar Museum
When Mauritius was colonised by the British, the island witnessed a boom in its sugar production. However, after gaining independence and many years after it, the sugar industry started to decline drastically, and many sugar factories were even closed down.
Furthermore, unfortunately, the Beau Plan Sugar Estate also became non-operational in 1998 after contributing to the sugar industry for 177 years. Following that, to maintain the legacy of this historical setting, the factory was transformed into a museum by the name of L'Aventure du Sucre.
After careful and patient hard work, the authorities managed to restore the old estate and there began the craftily-woven process of storytelling about sugar and its unparalleled position in the history of Mauritius.
In this newly found facility with its fresh ambience, the different stages involved in the production of sugar are exhibited and explained as well right from the cultivation of the sugarcane in the early period, how slavery played a vital role in growing the crops properly, to the manufacturing of the final products and their exportation to the Western markets.
You can see most of the used machines initially in the display - pipes, vessels, vats, a sizeable wooden barge and two locomotives as well which were mainly used as a mean of transporting sugar from Mauritius to Madagascar.
Visit L'Aventure du Sucre
Duration: It will take you nearly 2 hours to complete the tour of the Beau Plan mill.
During the visit, you will get to watch very expressive films that will get you acquainted with all the information you need to know about the sugar industry of Mauritius.
The tour is designed in such a way that it takes you through a journey of the history of Mauritius, beginning from as earliest as the discovery of the island itself!
Moving on, you get to learn about the settlements, the practice and trading of slavery, the advent of the indentured labourer to the island, the colonial lifestyle and finally the independence of Mauritius and the recent history.
What makes the museum a major attraction is the sugar production process and the products that are made out of it.
You will be taken for a walk to look at the enormous machines that are used for extracting the sugarcane from the fields and brought to the mill.
After that, they go through a series of machinery like the clarifiers, the evaporators, the vacuum pans, the crystallizers, the centrifuges and finally the chemistry lab.
Along the way, you will read about how sugar is transformed from canes into the consumable sugar and also see it happening at the same time!
Things to Experience The L'Aventure du Sucre museum also displays a vast array of arts that depict the journey of sugar dating back from the 15th century to the contemporary day.
For Kids To makes things exciting for the children, there are two mascots - Raj the Indian Mynah and Floryse the Mongoose who guide them through the tour of the museum while keeping them entertained with different stories and also by occasionally testing their knowledge with short quizzes; for correctly answered questions, the children are rewarded with a toot-toot on the old steam train!
For Adults As for the adults, the tour comes to an end with complimentary rum tasting where you get to taste various sugar-based rums, aged and spiced rums as well. Flavoured rums, and coffee and vanilla flavoured liqueurs are a must-try! Visitors are also given samples of various unrefined sugars. If you are into cooking or baking, you would be very much intrigued by the rich flavours of these different types of sugar which taste way better than the regularly consumed sugar.
Restaurant The Le Fangourin Restaurant is an on-site facility within the premises of the L'Aventure du Sucre. It enjoys a favourable location amidst a lush green setting with a lovely view of the mountains. The restaurant offers a unique Fangourin cuisine which maintains Mauritius' rich culinary heritage while infusing new and exciting flavours into the dishes.
The Village Boutik The Village Boutik is an authentic artisan shop that offers a wide range of craft products specially made by the locals that have been carried down over the generations. Visitors often engage in the exciting stories told by the artisan about the attractive gift boxes that are made out of a local Screwpine known as 'vacoas'. We suggest you buy some of the intricately designed sugar cartons that are made by hand; each product could be a great souvenir as well.
The House of New Grove The House of New Grove is a modern designed space showcasing the prestigious collection of rums from New Grove. The amber-hued rums are aged in large oak barrels. The variety is enormous starting from exotically flavoured liqueurs and one of the finest collections being the rums featuring some special sugars namely demerara, molasses and gold bakery. It's one of a kind in the whole world and has been developed under the careful supervision of cell master Christian Verger. The aged rums are widely favourite all over the island!
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