Vallée de Ferney

Vallée de Ferney is the closest thing Mauritius has to its original pre-human landscape — a 700-hectare valley on the east coast that contains one of the last substantial fragments of lowland Mauritian forest, with canopy trees that were growing before the Dutch arrived in 1638 and an understorey dense with endemic species found nowhere else on Earth.

The valley is home to the Mauritian kestrel — once listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's rarest bird, reduced to just four known individuals in 1974 by hunting, deforestation, and pesticides. A recovery programme run here by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation brought the population back from the edge and there are now several hundred birds on the island. Ferney is one of the most reliable places to see them hunting in the forest edge.

The forest itself is the attraction beyond the wildlife. Walking through old-growth Mauritian dry forest is a different sensory experience from anything in the sugar cane landscape that dominates the island's lowlands. The trees are strange and gnarled, often draped with epiphytes; the floor is soft and dark; the light filters through a canopy of species — bois de natte, bois d'olive, endemic pandanus — that are found naturally nowhere else. The guides who lead the trails are excellent naturalists who can find and name species that most visitors would walk past unseen.

The reserve also protects areas of mangrove along the coast and offers sea kayaking and snorkelling tours in the adjacent lagoon. Full-day combined land-and-sea visits are available. Conservation fees from visitors directly fund the reserve's running costs. Book at least a day in advance — group sizes are limited.