Home / Experience Mauritius / Distilleries & Winery / Rhumerie de Chamarel
Mauritius’ best-known agricultural rum distillery, set among its own cane fields above Chamarel village — a guided walk through the mill, stills and cellars, ending with a tasting of the full house range.
The Rhumerie opened in September 2008 in a valley above Chamarel village, ringed by the cane fields that supply it. Most Mauritian rum is distilled from molasses left over from sugar production; this is rhum agricole, made the way it is in the French Caribbean — cane is cut on the estate, pressed within hours, and the fresh juice fermented and distilled directly. The building, designed by Mauritian architect Maurice Giraud in wood, stone and water, is a large part of why the visit is worth making.
A guide takes you along the whole line: the mill, the fermentation vats, the copper stills, and the cellar where the aged rums rest in oak casks. The walk runs roughly half an hour to forty minutes and finishes with a tasting of the house range — white rums, wood-aged and old rums, arranged rums and rum-based liqueurs — included in the ticket. The cane harvest runs from around July to December, which is when the crushing and pressing line is usually turning; outside those months the mill is quiet, but the guided tour and the tasting run year-round. Children are welcome on the tour with an adult, and a reduced admission rate applies to 16 and 17 year olds; the tasting itself is intended for adults, so check the current policy with the distillery if you are visiting with teenagers. The shop sells the full range, including bottlings you will not find in supermarkets, and L’Alchimiste, the estate restaurant, serves lunch over the plantations with palm heart, venison and wild boar on the menu. Reserve if you want to eat: the tour and tasting are included in the lunch price.
Monday to Saturday, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Closed Sundays
Private tours until 3:30 PM
Current hours and rates: rhumeriedechamarel.com
Little more than a designated driver — the tasting is generous. Book ahead if you want lunch at L’Alchimiste, and leave room in your bag for a bottle.
The visitor route is mostly level, with a few steps between production levels. No booking is needed for the standard tour, though there can be a wait of around 20 minutes at reception at busy times. Information checked: August 2026.
A few minutes’ drive up the road, the Geopark protects the striped volcanic dunes that made Chamarel famous, along with a tortoise park and coffee plantation.
Mauritius’ tallest single-drop waterfall, falling close to 100 metres from a basalt cliff, viewed from two railed platforms inside the Geopark.
A free stop on the winding road down from the village, with an open view over the plain to Le Morne Brabant and the lagoon beyond.
Rhumerie de Chamarel,
Royal Road, Chamarel,
Rivière Noire District, Mauritius
Around 1 hr–1 hr 15 min from Port Louis
Approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Flic-en-Flac
Around 25–30 minutes from Le Morne
Signposted off the main road through Chamarel village, a few minutes’ drive from the Geopark entrance, with parking on site.
It is agricultural rum, distilled from fresh sugarcane juice pressed on the estate rather than from molasses left over from sugar production. The result is lighter and more vegetal, closer in style to rhum agricole from Martinique than to most Mauritian rums.
The standard guided tour with tasting is Rs 800 per person, with a reduced Rs 400 rate for 16 and 17 year olds, and no reservation is needed. A private tour costs Rs 1,500 per person and must be booked. Rates are reviewed periodically — the current ones are published on rhumeriedechamarel.com.
Tours and tastings run Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, with private tours until 3:30 PM. The distillery is closed on Sundays.
Yes, accompanied by an adult, and a reduced admission rate applies to 16 and 17 year olds. The rum tasting is intended for adults; if you are visiting with teenagers, confirm the current policy directly with the distillery.
L’Alchimiste, the estate restaurant, seats 80 and serves lunch Monday to Saturday from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM, à la carte and by reservation, with dinner on request. The tour and tasting are included in the lunch price, and there is afternoon tea on the terrace.
Not always. The Mauritian cane harvest runs from around July to December, and that is when the mill and pressing line are usually working. Outside those months the machinery is idle, but the guided tour still covers the full process and the tasting is unaffected.