Mauritius / Port Louis & the North / Port LouisPort Louis
The Capital: Market, Waterfront and the Indentured Labourers' Ghat
The capital and port, between the harbour and a ring of mountains: the Caudan Waterfront's shops and restaurants, the covered Central Market with its fruit, spices and dholl puri stalls, Chinatown, the Jummah Mosque and the Citadel above town. Beside the harbour is Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the immigration depot where about half a million indentured labourers, most of them from India, arrived between 1834 and 1920, the ancestors of many Mauritians. The motorway through Port Louis jams at rush hour, so plan drives across the island outside 7-9 am and 4-6 pm.
Highlights
- Aapravasi Ghat, where indentured labourers from India landed
- Central Market and its street food
- Caudan Waterfront
- Chinatown and the Jummah Mosque
- View over the harbour from the Citadel
- Blue Penny Museum
Things to do
- Aapravasi Ghat and its interpretation centreMorning · 1h 30m
- Central Market and a dholl puri breakfastMorning · 1h 30m
- Walk Chinatown, the Jummah Mosque and up to the CitadelAfternoon · 2h 30m
- Caudan Waterfront and the Blue Penny MuseumAfternoon · 2h
Tours & tickets
Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.
When to go
Best time: May – December
Worth knowing
Cyclone Season: Watch the Class Warnings
January to March is the height of the cyclone season. Most weeks pass with heat, humidity and short downpours, but when a cyclone nears, Mauritius Meteorological Services issue warnings from Class I to IV: from Class III everyone stays indoors, buses stop, shops and sights close and flights are often cancelled for a day or two. Keep a spare day before your flight home, take travel insurance that covers weather delays, and follow your hotel's advice.
Heads up
Cyclone Season
The cyclone season runs from November to April, with most storms from January to March. Early and late in the season a cyclone is less likely, but watch the forecast in the week before you fly.
- Thaipoosam Cavadee — The Tamil festival of Murugan: after days of fasting, devotees carry the cavadee, a wooden arch with flowers and pots of milk, to the kovils (temples), many with their cheeks and tongues pierced. Processions in Port Louis and the towns from early morning. A public holiday.
- Chinese Spring Festival — Chinese New Year: firecrackers and dragon dances in Port Louis's Chinatown, and wax cakes (gâteaux cire) shared between families of every community. A public holiday; some shops and restaurants close for a day or two.
- Independence and Republic Day — The national day, marking independence in 1968 and the republic in 1992: the flag-raising and celebrations at the Champ de Mars in Port Louis. Government offices and many shops close.
- Ganesh Chaturthi — Ganesh's festival, kept mostly by Marathi-speaking Mauritians: home and temple prayers, then processions carrying the idols to the sea or rivers for immersion the next day. A public holiday.
- Père Laval pilgrimage — On the night of 8 September and the feast day of the 9th, tens of thousands of pilgrims of every faith walk to the shrine of Father Jacques-Désiré Laval, the missionary priest, at Sainte-Croix on the edge of Port Louis. The roads round it are closed and packed.
- Divali — The festival of lights: houses and temples lit with clay lamps and fairy lights, sweets (gateaux) shared with neighbours, and fireworks after dark. A public holiday, and one of the busiest weeks for flights from India.
- Arrival of Indentured Labourers · 2 Nov — A public holiday for the day in 1834 when the first indentured labourers from India landed: a national ceremony at Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis, with wreaths and prayers at the steps they climbed. For Indian visitors with family roots here, the Indian immigration archives at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Moka keep the arrival records.