Some of the best fall color in South Louisiana isn't leaves at all. It's the snowy egrets, the moss-draped oaks and a bright red gate at Jungle Gardens on Avery Island, the same salt dome where TABASCO Sauce is made.

One Man's Bird Sanctuary

Jungle Gardens was founded by E. A. McIlhenny, known as Mr. Ned. In the 1890s, plume hunters were killing thousands of egrets for feathers on ladies' hats. Mr. Ned raised eight young snowy egrets in a flying cage and released them in the fall. Six came back with mates the next spring. By 1911 he estimated 100,000 birds were nesting in what became known as Bird City.

Keep an eye out for alligators, deer and raccoons too, plus one of the oldest timber bamboo groves in the country. Mr. Ned planted more than 64 bamboo varieties.

The Buddha in the Garden

In 1936, friends in New York found a Buddha statue sitting unclaimed in a Manhattan warehouse and shipped it to Mr. Ned by rail. The statue is said to be more than 900 years old. It sits in a shrine garden that local Buddhists still use for ceremonies.

Make It a Full Day

One Avery Island Fan Experience ticket covers both the self-guided TABASCO factory tour and museum and the 170-acre gardens. The tour includes the pepper greenhouse, barrel warehouse, bottling line and Country Store, and Restaurant 1868! is there for lunch.

Tickets: $15.50 for adults, $12.50 for children, $13.95 for seniors and veterans, and free for kids 4 and under. Reservations are recommended.

Hours: The factory tour runs daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Jungle Gardens lists 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

Payment: Cards only. Cash isn't accepted.

Download the TravelStorys audio tour on your phone before you drive the garden loop. Ride-share pickup isn't available on the island, so plan to drive yourself.

Photo courtesy of Jungle Gardens.