Natural Attraction, Reserve/Zoo

The François Legua Nature Reserve, with an area of ​​20 hectares, gives an idea of ​​what Rodrigues looked like before the appearance of man. The pristine island had the world's highest density of land turtles. It only took humans 100 years to drive these animals to extinction. Experts estimate that between 1730 and 1770, 280,000 turtles were shipped and killed. In 2006 and 2007, Francois Leguat Ltd reintroduced the two turtle species that are closest to extinction. Today there are more than 3,000 individuals in the reserve, including cubs. Recently, a third species of turtle was introduced from the island of Madagascar, which was almost extinct in its natural habitat. The goal is to rescue the animals and return them to Madagascar. The reserve is located in a unique landscape that includes 9 impressive caves. One of them, aptly named Grand Caverne, is the only electrified cave in the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, where everything is equipped to international standards. Since 2005, Francois Leguat Ltd has also launched a reforestation project aimed at pianting 300,000 seedlings of 40 tree species. Walking trough the vaiiey filled hundreds of giant turtles, tropical birds and tens of thousands ofexotic trees, you feel the unique pristine nature.