Vallée de Ferney, Nature reserve in Grand Port District, Mauritius
Vallée de Ferney is a nature reserve in Grand Port District covering around 200 hectares of protected land, featuring dense forest. Multiple hiking trails wind through native vegetation and connect different parts of the woodland.
The reserve gained protected status in 2006 through a partnership between La Vallée de Ferney Conservation Trust, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, and local authorities. This collaboration emerged from the need to safeguard the forest and its rare animal species from loss.
Local guides share knowledge about traditional uses of native plants and their role in Mauritian natural heritage during forest walks. This living connection between people and forest shapes how visitors understand and value this place today.
Visitors should register in advance and ideally arrive before 11:30 AM to watch the daily feeding of Mauritius kestrels at the trailhead. Early morning is the best time to explore, when the forest is most active and birds are most visible.
The reserve shelters a forest around 400 years old, where 14 pairs of critically endangered Mauritius kestrels have made their home. This rare bird species depends almost entirely on this forest and would likely not survive without the protection this reserve provides.
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