Avery Island (Tabasco Factory & Jungle Gardens)

Avery Island at 1 Avery Island Road in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, approximately 130 miles west of New Orleans, is a salt dome rising above the surrounding Cajun bayou country that has been home to the McIlhenny Company and its flagship product, Tabasco hot sauce, since 1868. The island offers two primary visitor experiences: the Tabasco Factory Tour and the Jungle Gardens wildlife sanctuary. The Tabasco Factory Tour, free of charge, takes visitors through the production process by which Tabasco pepper mash is aged in white oak barrels for up to three years, then blended with distilled vinegar and strained into the distinctive diamond-label bottles. The tour includes a narrated walk through the aging warehouse, where visitors can smell the sharp vinegar and pepper vapors rising from the barrels, as well as exhibits on the McIlhenny family history and the global reach of the Tabasco brand. The Jungle Gardens, covering 170 acres adjacent to the factory, were created by Edmund McIlhenny's son Edward Avery McIlhenny beginning in the 1890s. The gardens feature a mature bamboo grove said to be one of the largest in North America, several ornamental garden sections, a rookery island (Bird City) established to protect snowy egrets from plume hunters at the turn of the 20th century, and a Buddha statue reported to date from approximately 800 CE. The gardens are particularly vibrant in March and April when migratory birds arrive and the egret rookery fills with nesting activity. A self-drive or walk-through visit to the Jungle Gardens takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. Combined with the factory tour and the Tabasco Country Store and Restaurant on the island, a full visit takes 2 to 3 hours. A $2 toll is charged at the causeway bridge to the island.