Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens are in the village of Pamplemousses, 10 km northeast of Port Louis. The gardens are also referred to as the Royal Botanic Gardens. They used to be vegetable gardens for Mon Plaisir Château, the castle of Governor Mahé de la Bourdonnais. He started the gardens in 1735 and in 1768 Pierre Poivre took over the gardens, to try growing spices. He was not very successful and the grounds were neglected until 1849, when James Duncan, a British horticulturalist rearranged the gardens into its present array of plants and trees.
The gardens' main attraction are its giant Victoria regia water lilies that originate from the Amazon. The plant has huge leafs, with a flower in its center that opens white and closes red the next day. There are not too many flowers in the gardens, but other interesting plants include golden bamboo, chewing gum trees, fish poison trees, a centuries old Buddha tree and a cross tree with leaves shaped like crucifixes. There are also several spices such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, camphor and sandalwood. The gardens also house many giant tortoises in its ponds. It is a nice place to spend an afternoon.
The garden's headquarters are in the old colonial Governor's residence, where you'll also find an art gallery. Pamplemousses has bus connections with Port Louis.
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