Mascarin jardin botanique de La Réunion, Botanical garden in Saint-Leu, Réunion, France

Mascarin, jardin botanique de La Réunion occupies a 9-hectare estate at Les Colimaçons, in the highlands of Saint-Leu, around a Creole villa whose entrance stairway is lined with araucarias. The garden is divided into collections: coffee trees from Africa, Madagascar, the Mascarenes and the Comoros; a bamboo ravine; Plantes Lontan; and a terraced orchard of some fifty fruit varieties. A half-moon pond with water lilies, papyrus and koi carp lies behind the villa.

The estate was bought in 1857 by Marquis Joseph Antoine Sosthènes d'Armand de Chateauvieux, an agronomist who grew sugar cane, geranium, tea and cotton on 660 hectares at 500 m altitude. His descendants sold the run-down property to the department of La Réunion in 1986, and the restored buildings were inaugurated in 1991. The garden obtained the Jardin remarquable label in March 2019.

The garden shows the island's heritage through exhibitions in restored buildings that reflect local architectural traditions. Visitors see artworks and displays about how people have connected with this landscape.

The garden is easy to explore on foot since the different sections are connected by clearly marked pathways. It is best to wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water, especially if you plan to spend several hours walking through the grounds.

The garden's coffee collection gathers more than thirty wild species from Africa, Madagascar, the Mascarenes and the Comoros, kept to safeguard their genetic diversity. Nearby, the Plantes Lontan trail follows the stages of land clearing and deforestation, marked by the crops introduced to the island: cotton, tobacco, coffee, spices, sugarcane and geranium.