Discover Mauritius

Mauritius is ideal for spending a dream vacation throughout the year. The temperature during the summer months (November to April) varies from 20 ° C to 28 ° C on the central plateau and from 25 ° C to 33 ° C on the coasts. During the winter months, the average temperature on the central plateau is 20 ° C with peaks down to 12 ° C at night.

The time difference is small. It is necessary to add 3 + hours in winter and +2 hours in summer.

The official language is English, but the language spoken and understood, after the Creole, is French. The teaching is in English, as well as the administration, but the press is expressed in French.

The Sega is THE dance of Mauritius.

The typical Séga is played with only 3 instruments: the ravanne the maravanne and the triangle. Texts accompanying Creole music and dance are very rhythmic. Today, dozens of types of Séga exist, including the addition of percussion as the djembe.

The Mauritian cooking is a mix of African, Oriental and European specialties. From this cooking emerges a multitude of exotic flavours such as chicken, vegetables where rice predominates, as well as the "love apple" (tomatoes), onions and garlic. All spicy and fruity. Indian cooking is omnipresent on the island, but with time it was mixed with flavours from Africa and Asia, this is that ethnic mix which makes the richness of the island and its cooking.

The DODO!

We can not evoke the wildlife without mentioning the dodo, a bird with size of a large turkey, represented on the coat of arms of the island. Unfortunately it was exterminated by Dutch settlers, hungry at the end of the seventeenth century. Since then, the dodo became a symbol extinct species of Mauritius, and one of the emblematic animal figures of on the island.

A few reference point:

1512 - The portuguese sailor Mascarenhas discovered Mauritius and gives its name to the Mascarene Archipelago (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Reunion islands).

1598 to 1710 - The Dutch controlled the island.

1710 to 1789 - The French settled in Mauritius to lead the fight against pirates. Under the impetus of Labourdonnais Mahé, the island became a thriving center and Port Louis a major port.

1810 - The French capitulate to the English. But French will remain the language of Mauritius.

1835 - Slavery is abolished. Chinese and Indians to replace the newly freed slaves in the exploitation of sugar cane fields.

1958 - Introduction of universal suffrage.

1968 - Mauritius becomes an independent state.

1992 - The Republic of Mauritius is proclaimed.

The coast, long about 330km, is surrounded by one of the longest uninterrupted coral barriers in the world. The Mascarene Archipelago is composed of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues islands. The archipelago takes its name from Portuguese navigator Pero Mascarenhas, who was one of the first European to report its existence at the beginning of Sixteenth century.

Mauritius is located halfway between Africa and India, in the north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is known as the Star of the Indian Ocean. With a total area of 1865 square km (65 km length by 45 km wide at most), the island is surrounded by lagoons and is formed around a central plateau of extinct volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls and a lush vegetation.