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The Jummah mosque in Port Louis
Photo: Richard N Horne / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

🏛️ Culture, history & markets · Port Louis

Kwan Tee pagoda, Jummah mosque & the Natural History Museum

Three sides of Port Louis in a morning: the oldest Chinese temple, the grand Jummah mosque in Chinatown, and the museum with the dodo skeleton.

🚗 From the villa45 min · 32.7 kmoff-peak estimate
⏱️ Time needed2–3 hnot counting the drive
🕓 Best time of day☀️ Morning
💰 PriceRs 0–200 (CHF 0–3)Free or nearly free.

Port Louis shows the island's diversity in a few streets. The Kwan Tee pagoda (1842), by the harbour, is the oldest Chinese temple in the southern hemisphere. The Jummah mosque (1850s), with its white facade on Royal Street, marks the edge of Chinatown. The Natural History Museum on the Place d'Armes has the most complete dodo skeleton, and displays on the island's extinct and endemic species.

  • Oldest Chinese temple of the southern hemisphere
  • Jummah mosque
  • Dodo skeleton
The Jummah mosque in Port Louis
Photo: Richard N Horne / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
The Kwan Tee pagoda in Port Louis
Photo: Richard N Horne / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Getting there

Driving route from the villa

🚗 By car: 45 min (32.7 km) off-peak. Park at the Caudan and walk. Directions in Google Maps ↗

  • 🚕 Taxi from the villa: about Rs 1,300–1,750 one way per car (agree the price first; a return trip with waiting time is often negotiable).

Tips

  • 💡 Dress modestly (shoulders and knees) and take off your shoes where asked.

Our notes & votes