Le Jardin du Roi (King's Garden) by Muya
This is a spice garden situated at Anse Royale, at the feet of Mont Gratte-Fesse. The first one to have the idea of creating such a garden was Pierre Poivre, who in 1771 introduced spices in the Seychelles. I find it funny because ?poivre? means ?pepper? in french ! His garden was mistakenly destroyed by one of his lieutenants, who preferred to burn it rather than to let it fall in the hands of the ennemy. But the idea remained... and one day, Brian and Micheline George decided to recreate the spice garden. And believe me they did a great job ! They transformed the old colonial mansion into a museum and planted the surroundings with all sort of plants and trees. And for them, every detail is important, even the toilets are nicely decorated with hibiscus flowers and banana leaves to put the soap on...very nice !Follow the numbers indicated on the plan you receive at the entrance, they will guide you through this beautiful garden full of tropical fragrances. You'll discover 50 varieties of plants and trees with exotic names, such cinammon tree, cardamom, nutmeg tree, avocado tree, orchids... And of course, the Coco de Mer tree, male and female ! Even turtles resting in their pen, or some birds and rabbits in cages.
Then you'll certainly be thirsty, after an hour wandering through the paths of the garden?Well, don't hesitate to go and have a fresh fruit cocktail on the little terrace ! I think I've never drunk such a good juice...It was made of 6 different fruits, from the garden, of course :-) Papaya, soursop, carambola, guava,?Delicious ! And the terrace offers a view on the ocean and the beautiful beach of Anse Royale in the distance ! Besides, it is probably one of the only places in Mahé where you can get a fresh fruit juice, at least in june...or I haven't been to the right places maybe...
I really loved this place ! And I highly recommand it to you, it's really worth a visit !
Open every day from 10 am to 5 pm, entance 25 rupees
