La Vanille Nature Park: Crocodiles, Giant Tortoises and Visitor Guide
Nile crocodiles, Aldabra giant tortoises, opening hours, ticket prices and practical tips for visiting La Vanille Nature Park in the south of Mauritius.
La Vanille Nature Park, in Rivière des Anguilles in the south of Mauritius, is open every day from 9am to 5pm and keeps more than 2,000 Nile crocodiles and more than 1,000 free-roaming Aldabra giant tortoises. Entry costs Rs 975 for a non-resident adult and Rs 450 for a resident. Allow two to three hours, and arrive before 3pm.
What you can see at the park
The park opened in 1985 as La Vanille Crocodile Park, built around a small crocodile farm. Today it covers 5.5 hectares on the site of a former vanilla plantation that belonged to a sugar estate. Plenty of water there let a dense tropical forest grow, which is where the name comes from. Walking trails add up to 3.5 km, and you can follow them on your own without a guide.
Two species carry the visit. The Nile crocodiles live in secure ponds and fenced enclosures, and the park manages their numbers through controlled breeding and egg incubation. The park lists the species as Least Concern and says it can live 70 to 100 years.
The Aldabra giant tortoises come from Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles and roam a savannah of their own. The park describes its herd as one of the largest groups of the species. Aldabra tortoises often live beyond 100 years, and the park lists them as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
You will also find iguanas and Madagascan lemurs, plus three exhibits included in the ticket: an insectarium, a dodo space and a fossil museum. Children get a petting farm with rabbits and ponies, and a playground. If the dodo interests you, our article on the dodo of Mauritius explains what is actually known about the bird.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The park opens Monday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm, including public holidays. It closes on 25 December and 1 January. Online tickets are valid only for the date you choose.
| Visitor | Adult | Child (3 to 12) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-resident | Rs 975 | Rs 685 |
| Resident | Rs 450 | Rs 295 |
These prices come from the park’s “Plan your visit” page, read in October 2026. Several travel sites still quote older opening times, such as 8.30am, or other prices, so trust the park’s own page.
Feeding times and animal encounters
The park lists crocodile feeding at 11.30am and 2.30pm. Times can change, and one third-party travel guide gives 3pm for the afternoon session, so ask for the day’s programme at the gate.
Animal encounters with baby tortoises, iguanas or baby crocodiles run in small groups with a keeper. They cost extra and places are limited. The petting farm, insectarium, dodo space and fossil museum come with the entry ticket.
Planning your day
- Average visit: two to three hours, according to the park. Arrive before 3pm.
- Free parking on site, and family-friendly access throughout.
- A restaurant on site, open during park hours, handy in the hottest part of the day.
- Rules: stay behind the enclosure limits, bring no outside food for the animals, no flash in restricted areas (photography is otherwise allowed), and keep children in sight at all times.
- Contact: +230 626 2503 or info@lavanillenaturepark.com.
La Vanille fits neatly into a day in the south-east. See our walking guide to visiting Mahébourg, or, for wildlife, our pages on sea turtles and endemic birds.
A role in tortoise conservation
The park says it has taken part in breeding and reintroduction programmes in Mauritius, Rodrigues and Madagascar. On Rodrigues, a 2013 study in Chelonian Research Monographs describes the release, between 2006 and 2013, of more than 480 captive-bred Aldabra tortoises and 100 Madagascar radiated tortoises on a privately managed 20-hectare reserve. The animals stand in, ecologically, for two giant tortoise species that vanished from the island. Seven years after the first releases, 568 young Aldabra and 1,114 young radiated tortoises had hatched there, and the authors judged survival satisfactory overall.
Living in the south
If the visit makes you want to know the south beyond a day trip, our page on real estate in Bel Ombre shows the properties Westimmo offers in that part of the island, and property prices in Mauritius gives price benchmarks by region.
Sources and checks
- La Vanille Nature Park – Plan your visit (hours, prices, rules, duration)
- La Vanille Nature Park – The park (founding, area, site history)
- La Vanille Nature Park – Animals and conservation
- La Vanille Nature Park – Aldabra giant tortoise
- La Vanille Nature Park – Nile crocodile
- La Vanille Nature Park – Experiences and petting farm
- Conservation Evidence – Griffiths, Andre and Meunier (2013), tortoise breeding and re-wilding on Rodrigues
- Fairmoove – Visiting La Vanille Nature Park (feeding time comparison)
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