For the thrill seekers

This not only makes for great photography results – especially when you are shooting near the shore — but also it means that Mauritius is a great place for water sports and underwater adventures. Scuba Diving: There are several professional diving centres along the coast but if you are a beginner you can undergo a brief training at dive centres and enjoy the beauty of the sea. Zip line Rides: Here is your chance to feel like a modern Tarzan. There is a network of zip lines, which enables you to 'fly' over the land, forests and hilly areas.

Once used as a means of transportation over mountainous terrain or for delivering goods across an obstacle like a river; zip lines are now a popular outdoor sport. Skydiving: This is considered among the more extreme of adventure sports. You are first taken thousands of feet above ground after which, you have a free fall for about 45 seconds, and then the parachute opens giving you the feeling of being a bird in the sky for about five to six minutes.

Quad-biking: It is easier than skydiving or zip line rides. This is a great way to take a safari and watch animals in their natural habitat or view the lush countryside. We took a quad-biking trip in Casela Nature and Leisure Park. We came across deer, zebras, ostriches, etc. You can take the quad-biking trip alone or with a companion.

First timers, like us, preferred to go with along with a guide. Walk with the lions: This is a delightful opportunity for close encounters with lions. There is a fenced enclosure, which you enter with guards after they give you a brief introduction about the activity and the dos and don'ts.

Here, under their watchful eye, you can touch and even stroke the lions and sit beside them for your photo-ops—well, don’t you want folks back home to gasp in awe! At another enclosure in Casela Park, we saw cubs. The tourists were allowed to carry them in their arms for a brief time. Snorkeling: Explore the fascinating underwater life equipped with diving mask, and the snorkel. You can rent snorkeling gear from the beach where this activity happens.

Blue Bay, on the southeast coast of Mauritius is considered the best place for this sport. Kitesurfing (in north and east coasts of Mauritius) and water skiing are some other allied water sports worth trying. Undersea walk: This is another adventure activity in which, you get close and personal with the fascinatingly beautiful panorama of underwater life. You have to be dressed right. Appropriate footwear will be given to you. Step down a ladder into the sea. On the last step, you are equipped with an enormous glass helmet and then you take the plunge into the waters.

You are guided to a standing position by a guide. And then, you are there walking on the seabed! Beautiful, colourful fish glide past and you can almost touch the stunning corals around. Seakart: This is a bit like gokarting only you are doing this on water not on a road. Equipped with a life-jacket and sitting on the seakart alone or along with your instructor, you will first leave the bay and then keep your foot on the accelerator as you steer the boat across the waters. You have to be careful to keep a distance from the other seakarts, and also not get close to the big waves around the big ships. However, it is completely safe as the seakart doesn't overturn. It is also great fun, we all realised!