Trou aux Biches Beach

Trou aux Biches is the beach that serious beach-goers on the north-west coast return to when they've grown tired of the more famous spots. Its name — "hole of the does" — refers to the hollow in the reef that allows fresh water to seep up through the sandy bottom, a phenomenon still visible in places where the sand seems to shimmer and move of its own accord. The beach itself is a crescent of fine white-gold sand, roughly 800 metres long, in a small north-west coast village that has retained considerably more of its original character than Grand Baie to the north.

The lagoon at Trou aux Biches is exceptional — calm, warm, and extraordinarily clear, protected by a reef that extends about 500 metres offshore. The water colour shifts from pale jade in the shallows to a deeper cobalt above the reef edge, and the visibility is consistently good enough for snorkelling directly from the beach without the need for a boat. The coral gardens along the reef's inner slope host a rich variety of reef fish: parrotfish, butterflyfish, Moorish idols, and the octopus that rest in the reef's crevices during the day and hunt at dusk. Several dive operators run sites from the beach; the nearby Coin de Mire (Gunner's Quoin island) is a 30-minute boat ride and considered one of the best dive sites in the Indian Ocean.

The village of Trou aux Biches has a sleepy, authentically Mauritian quality that the beach at Grand Baie lost some years ago to tourist development. The beachfront promenade has low-key restaurants and beach bars; the morning market on the main road sells fresh bread, fruit, and fish straight from the boats. The Trou aux Biches Beachcomber hotel occupies the southern end of the beach and runs a public beach bar with good rum cocktails and a view that earns its place on any Mauritius itinerary.

The beach faces north-west, which means it catches the late afternoon light beautifully without the full drama of a west coast sunset — softer, more pastel, and considerably less crowded than Flic en Flac at golden hour.