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Eco-Mauritius

People are relative newcomers on Mauritius. Thanks to the island’s isolated location in the Indian Ocean, nature had the opportunity to evolve in a unique manner. The most famous example is the dodo bird, which welcomed Dutch explorers in 1598. The goofy giant suffered a well-known fate: within only 7 decades the species had been completely wiped out.

A Mauritius fody

Time capsule

A tour of the Île aux Aigrettes, a coral island off the coast of Mahébourg, gives visitors an impression of what Mauritius must have looked like when the first explorers arrived. In 1965, the entire region was declared a nature reserve and non-native plants and animals were removed as much as possible. What remains is a healthy native bird population that includes the Mauritius fody and the pink pigeon. The atoll is also home to approximately 20 Aldabra giant tortoises, including Big Daddy, a 90-year-old specimen.

View of Alexandra Falls

The green heart of Mauritius

The Black River Gorges National Park is home to the majority of indigenous flora and fauna of Mauritius, including a population of black flying foxes, the largest indigenous mammals on the island that have a wing span of up to 80 cm. Hikers may also spot non-native deer, wild boar and macaques. The park features 60 kilometres of hiking trails with many viewpoints overlooking the green valleys, waterfalls and crater lakes. Those who don’t have the time or the energy to undertake one of the hiking routes can also take a mini road trip through the park.

Giant water lilies in the SSR Botanical Gardens

Botanical heritage

The 282-year-old Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens near Pamplemousses in the interior of Mauritius are some of the most renowned botanical gardens in the world. This is not only because of their famous visitors, such as Nelson Mandela and members of the British royal family, who planted a few seedlings here. The variety of palm trees alone is impressive. But the real eye-catcher is the pond filled with Victoria amazonica water lilies: the leaves can have a diameter of up to 3 metres.

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Arts & Culture

Nightlife

Nature

Beach

Water sports

Active & Outdoor

Culinary

Arts & Culture

Houston and Dallas may be bigger and more famous, but Austin is in fact the capital of Texas. It’s also the least Texan city in Texas. And the weirdest city in the country. This is something its residents take pride in, as evidenced by the Austin motto of Keep Austin Weird! Have a peek inside weird houses or admire a cathedral of junk in a city where there is even a museum devoted entirely to the weird and strange.

Nightlife

When it comes to music, you might be inclined to think New Orleans (jazz), Memphis (rock ‘n’ roll), Chicago (blues) or Nashville (country), but Austin is actually the music capital of the US. The city boasts over 250 music venues, more than any other American city. You can choose from countless live performances and a fantastic music festival every month, such as SXSW. Austin lives and breathes music.

Nature

In the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, you can hike, swim in natural hot springs, picnic and camp. The park features a variety of ecosystems around nine craters and 32 rivers with spectacular waterfalls during the rainy season. The diversity of flora and fauna is amazing: look up and chances are you’ll see toucans, sloths and monkeys in the treetops.

Beach, Water sports, Nature

The airport in Liberia is the gateway to the Province of Guanacaste, the sunniest part of Costa Rica. Thanks to its large number of snow-white buildings and tree-lined streets made of white gravel, the city itself is also referred to as ‘la ciudad blanca’. But, let’s be honest, most visitors who arrive here are primarily interested in white sand. Only a half hour by car from the airport is the fantastic Pacific coast with beaches that are postcard perfect.

Active & Outdoor

Old towns, stunning constructions and wonderful nature: admire all of this and more in THIS IS HOLLAND, a brand-new 5D movie attraction by the producers of De Nieuwe Wildernis (The New Wilderness). It is the perfect introduction to Holland for first-time visitors, but also an interesting surprise for Dutchies who think they know their country inside out. This is a magical 5D experience with smells, colours, images, sounds, rain and shine.

Culinary

Everyone in Sweden knows Småland as the nation’s culinary centre. The region’s cuisine goes above and beyond the famous meatballs: a Michelin-star restaurant serves innovative Swedish haute cuisine, coffee is elevated to an art, and you can visit a lovely castle and pretend to be Lord or Lady of the manor. Here are three suggestions for typically Swedish restaurants in the city of Växjö.

Arts & Culture

Älmhult is the birthplace of renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus and children’s books author Astrid Lindgren, however its most famous ‘offspring’ is IKEA. Life in this southern Swedish town evolves around the blue-and-yellow furniture giant: from the IKEA Hotel and IKEA Museum to the IKEA Bar and IKEA Spa. Welcome to the one and only IKEA Småland – meatballs and ball pit included.