GRSE's Waterfall, Golf And Village Tours
The Four Attractions Worth Building A Visit Around
Grand River South East (GRSE), on Mauritius’s east coast, doesn’t have a museum district or a walkable old town, but it has four genuinely distinct attractions within a short boat or drive of each other, and each one is worth its own visit rather than a rushed stop.
The GRSE waterfall canyon The headline attraction is the river itself: a basaltic canyon where the Grand River South East, after a 30-kilometer run from the central plateau, plunges into the tidal sea inlet. Motor launch or kayak both get you there; the sheer black volcanic rock, shaped by ancient lava flows and framed by dense subtropical forest and giant Ravenala palms, is the reason this stretch of coast is on any map at all.
Anahita Golf Club Designed by Ernie Els to USGA standards, this championship 18-hole, par-72 course runs six oceanfront holes directly along the GRSE lagoon and river mouth. It’s open to visiting golfers with advance booking, not just resort guests, and the clubhouse dining overlooking the bay is worth the stop even if you’re not playing.
Île aux Cerfs Golf Club Across the channel on its own island, Bernhard Langer’s 18-hole course is accessible only by boat, which is precisely what makes it one of the most visually dramatic island golf courses anywhere. Getting there is part of the experience: you cross the same lagoon everyone else crosses for the beach, just with clubs instead of a cooler.
Trou d’Eau Douce Six kilometers north, this historic fishing village trades the wilderness of GRSE for colorful Creole architecture, the stone church of Notre Dame du Bon Secours, and working fishing wharves. It’s also the other common departure point for boats up the GRSE river and across to Île aux Cerfs, so most visitors pass through it anyway.
The verdict: if you can only pick two, make it the waterfall canyon and Trou d’Eau Douce. The golf courses are genuinely excellent, but they’re a specific-interest attraction in a way the canyon and the village aren’t.
One concrete tip: book the Île aux Cerfs golf round for the morning boat crossing, before the lagoon fills up with day-trip catamarans and speedboats, so the ride out is as calm as the course itself.
Pair the canyon trip with the wildlife you’ll see along it. See animal activities at Grand River South East for what to look for on the cliffs above the water.