Whether you're planning a trip to the beautiful island of Mauritius or you want to find out more about what the nation has to offer, we've rounded up 20 top facts.
About Mauritius
A history of conquest and culture
Mauritius was colonized over 300 years ago by the Dutch, French, and British, following its discovery by the Portuguese and Arabs.
Its name is derived from Maurice van Nassau, later known as Maurice, Prince of Orange, and it was known as The Star and Key of the Indian Ocean due to its strategic position along trade routes.
On the southeast coast of the island, Vieux Grand Port was the scene of the sole French naval victory over the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars – and the only maritime battle commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris.
Having only become an independent state as recently as the 1960s, the multicultural influences of its past guests remain, with French, British, and its own Creole as the local vernaculars.
Although it has been a long time since the island was the British Empire's primary sugar-producing colony, sugar cane remains one of its main exports, with approximately 600,000 tons produced annually from the plantations that cover around 85% of the island's arable land.
Unusually for an African country, Mauritius' most populous religion is Hinduism, with exquisite temples like Surya Oudaya Sangam reflecting the distinct Asian influences also ingrained in the culture.
Peaceful resorts and wildlife
Comfortingly less varied than its historical influences, Mauritius' mild, tropical, maritime climate covers only two distinct seasons: a warm summer, from November to April, and reasonably cool winter, from June to September.
October and May are locally known as "transition months." The island lies in what meteorologists call the Indian Ocean's "Cyclone Belt." Between January and March, the island will occasionally feel the mild periphery of a balmy storm as it passes from West to South, way out at sea.
Subsequently, holidays in Mauritius can be taken at a time to suit any traveler, with the milder winter perhaps satisfying the more intrepid trekker as they explore Black River Gorges National Park.
At the same time, the more laissez-faire may prefer the sandy beaches of Haute Rive or Rivière Noire.
On the shores of the surrounding blue waters lives the world's third-largest coral reef, along with all the fluttering, iridescent underwater life that inhabits it, only a snorkel or the hire of a local guide away.
For those with a dry palate, The Seven Coloured Earths is an intriguing tourist attraction located in Chamarel, in the southwest of the island. Like the coral, these pastel dunes were formed by volcanic eruptions but never seemed to erode, despite the tropical climate above.
Across the Indian Ocean, Madagascar may boast its own lemur-laden DreamWorks movie franchise, but Mauritius is also home to its world-renowned indigenous species.
The Dodo may have been extinct for centuries, but it remains an enigmatic symbol of the curious nature of the natural world.
Endemic to Mauritius, it never evolved to learn to fly from the island, which, perhaps ironically, is also home to several species of Pteropus – or flying foxes.
Said to be one of Lewis Carroll's inspirations for Alice in Wonderland, The Dodo is still the island nation's national animal.
Along with the Mauritian Kestrel also soaring overhead and giant tortoises roaming free below in Mauritius' Ile aux Aigrettes nature reserve, those with a passion for nature can indulge to their heart's content for the duration of their stay.
Enriching entertainment
While Asia and Europe have shaped Mauritius' religious and economic history, one of its strongest African influences is evident in its music and dance, particularly in the Sega – the musical expression of Mauritian way of life, joy, and liveliness.
Often accompanied by the limb-loosening local rum, the music is produced by the Ravanne, a drum made of goatskin, the Triangle, a traditional guitar, and the Maravanne, a wooden box containing seeds or sand.
Derived from its empirical, slave history, the lyrics are traditionally sung in Creole, while there are no rules on expression – just let yourself go and dance! The expressive art form also holds significant nostalgic and spiritual meaning to the island's residents.
It's temporary freedom symbolizes the native and innate human desire to transcend beyond the boundaries of the everyday, albeit to return to the necessities of the real world.
It is no surprise, then, that alongside being a unique destination for both intrepid and tranquil tourists, the island has been the setting for nearly two hundred Bollywood movies over the last forty years.
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This story was brought to you in partnership with Imagine Holidays.
