The reserve

Stroll through a lush green setting, where palm trees and giant bamboo provide shade to the hundreds of Nile crocodiles that are raised in the park. 

Take a walk on the wild side amongst our huge herd of Aldabra giant tortoises living in Semi-liberty, where you can meet Domino, the centenarian, who tips the scale at 275 kgs. A souvenir photo is a must in this site where hundreds of the giant are raised. La Vanille Nature Park has the largest captive herd of Aldabra tortoises in the world. discover an exuberant fauna with iguanas, monkeys, lemurs, deer, wild boar, Japanese carp, Mauritian bats, Radiata Tortoises, fresh water turtles, geckos, eels, chameleons and more.

sugarcane locomotive

trains in Mauritius (1864-1981)

Mauritius had two railway systems: a government-run public railway that carried passengers and freight around many parts of the island, and a private system that carried sugar cane to the sugar mills. The first railway line in Mauritius was opened on 21 May 1864. For such a small island, Mauritius had a relatively large railway network, with around 180 km of standard gauge track and 20 km of narrow gauge. By the 1950s, the government railway could no longer compete with road transport and accordingly the last passenger train ran on 31 March 1956, although the freight trains operated until 1964. The private railway system continued to carry sugar cane until 1981.

The train on display at La Vanille is a Ruston & Hornsby diesel engine, and was probably one of the last locomotives in use on the island. It was withdrawn from service at Savannah Sugar Estate in 1981, the year the last sugar line in Mauritius closed. It was left in the fields at La Barrack, Savannah, until 1986 when it was brought to La Vanille.