Tropical fruits in Mauritius

Coming on holiday to Mauritius means enjoying the abundance of these exotic fruits with meaningful names that carry the promise of sweetness and flavour. Bursting with sunshine and vitamins, the local fruits display bright colours and original shapes. While each season has its own star fruits, there are others that are less well known but just as surprising. Natural, transformed into jams, fruit jellies, candied, prepared in the local cuisine or used to make rhums and other cocktails, check out our non-exhaustive guide to the fruits of Mauritius.

Mauritius, a fruitful land

With its warm, sunny tropical climate and favorable rainfall, Mauritius grows a wide variety of delicious fruit all year round. While many Mauritians have fruit trees such as mango, pawpaw, longan and banana in their gardens, many orchards provide the local gastronomic tables with pulpy, fragrant ones.

Mango, lychee and longan as the top three

Summer is the blessed season for the favourite fruits of Mauritians and visitors alike. These delicious fruits abound from December to March and delight those with a sweet tooth. Honor to the mango, this very fragrant red or yellow fruit, with its firm and sun-drenched flesh. The tastiest varieties are known as “Mangue José” or “Maison Rouge”, but there are hundreds of varieties in Mauritius with different shapes, colours and flavors. Ripe, they are eaten sliced, and green, they come in “achards”, fermented in vinegar and slightly spicy. They are also made into jam.

The lychee (called letchi in Mauritius) is mostly grown in large orchards, equipped to fight against the redoubtable predators that are the local bats and which plunder any tree not covered with nets. This red fruit with its tender and translucent flesh can be enjoyed without moderation as is, but it is also available in rhums.

The longan, a small brown fruit usually found in private gardens, is very similar to the lychee in terms of flavor. Its season is shorter and it can be found on roadside stalls.

Other exotic fruits worth discovering during your stay in Mauritius

Besides the classic papaya and banana, there are other unusual and tasty fruits. The breadfruit is a large green fruit with white and fragrant flesh, quite rare on the shelves, usually cooked with salt as a “gratin”.

The sliced carambola is star-shaped. Its colour varies from bright green to bright yellow and it is sweet when ripe. You can usually find them from February to July in Mauritius (https://www.lesfruitsetlegumesfrais.com/fruits-legumes/fruits-exotiques-et-tropicaux/carambole )

Guava is an amazing fruit. Red, it is the famous “Chinese guava” that is picked in Plaine Champagne in June and July. Green with deliciously fragrant white flesh, it grows in private gardens. It is eaten as is or in marmalade.  

Watermelons, wild raspberries, avocados, passion fruit, bilimbi, etc. can also be found on the stalls.

Where to find the best fruits in Mauritius?

Mauritius has a wide range of fruits to choose from all year round.

One of the best places to find them is the local market in Port Louis (or any other local market in Mauritius), where you can find fresh fruit cheaper than in supermarkets or on roadside stalls. For high quality fruits, visit Vergers de La Bourdonnais in the north who also sell them in fruit jellies, exotic fruits, juices… (https://domainedelabourdonnais.com/fr/agrigulture-transformation/)

While visiting Mauritius, fill up on vitamins and sweets thanks to the tropical fruits available all year round and bring them back as jams, rhums or fruit jellies.