Glamping in Mauritius

Families love these charming self-catering Creole-style chalets, decked out in boho-chic style, nestled on a farm in the cooler highlands of Chamarel. Saddles slung over the veranda railings give it the feel of a livery stables, and it’s one of the few places on the island to offer guided horseriding, through tropical scenery with forested mountains and rivers on calm, gentle South African horses (with boots and hats provided). It also has guided hikes, which lead past an old sugar chimney and alongside sugarcane, pineapple and bananas plantations in the fertile red-coloured earth.

Families of four can choose from elegant L’Atelier, a wooden whitewashed chalet with an L-shaped ‘wrap-around’ balcony, or more modern La Maison du Potager in the kitchen garden, with floor-to-ceiling windows, splashes of lime green in curtains and cups, and comfy sofas around a fireplace. Spacious traditional-style Le Campement, which sleeps six (with three bathrooms) has wooden shutters, tile floors, a picnic-style dining table on the veranda and one muslin-draped antique four-poster bed. 

Bring earplugs (rain on the tin roofs is noisy), warm clothes and insect repellent. Kitchens have a microwave and a small shop sells groceries at supermarket prices, plus seasonal herbs, salad and fruit from the estate. But if you don’t feel like cooking, authentic Mauritian meals and picnic baskets are made to order. A kids’ corner has swings, a sandpit and mini football pitch, and communal La Cabane has free tea, coffee and wifi, and a veranda (with fireplace) to mingle with other guests.

Nearby Chamarel village has tables d’hôte (set menus) in its restaurants and a day’s worth of attractions, from geological formation The Seven Coloured Earths and a rum factory, to the Curious Corner of Chamarel, a fantastic world of optical illusions and mind games. Family-friendly hiking trails in Black River Gorges National Park and Le Morne Beach, one of the island’s finest, are a 15-minute drive, and west coast beaches can be reached by bus.