Jardin des Parfums et des Epices

The Jardin des Parfums et des Épices occupies about three hectares of forest on a two-hundred-year-old lava flow above Saint-Philippe, where a family has planted spices, aromatics and useful plants among the surviving native trees rather than clearing the ground: vanilla, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ylang-ylang and a long list of medicinal species grow under the canopy. Visits are guided and the guides cut, crush and hand round as they go.

What you actually see

• The spice planting - vanilla, pepper, nutmeg and cloves grown under native canopy.
• The lava substrate - a garden growing on a two-hundred-year-old flow.
• The medicinal plants - the tisane species used in creole traditional medicine.
• The guided walk - leaves and bark cut and passed round through the visit.

When to go

Year round; visits run at set times and are guided only. Mornings are best before the afternoon rain. Booking helps in season.

Honest expectations

Entry is by guided tour only and at set times, so arrival needs timing. Tours are in French with limited English. It rains frequently and the paths are muddy.

Nearby

Mare Longue is beside it, and Saint-Philippe is below.