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Summer, High season, rainy month, high humidity.
Summer, High season, rainy month, high humidity.
Summer, High season, rainy month, high humidity.
End of summer, pleasant temperature, low humidity, low rainfall.
Transition month, very pleasant, low rainfall, more sunshine.
Winter month, very pleasant, good sunshine and temperature, night time can be cooler
Winter month, avoid the east coast, pleasant during the day, cool at night
Winter month, avoid the east coast, pleasant during the day, cool at night
Winter month, avoid the east coast, pleasant during the day, cool at night
Transition month, very pleasant, low rainfall, more sunshine.
Summer, beautiful weather, good temperature, low rainfall.
Summer, good temperature, low rainfall, good rates. Festive season starts 20 Dec and rates rise.
The colonial history of Mauritius, has made the island a multi-ethnic and multilingual society. The mother tongue of the local population is Mauritian Creole. It is a French dialect mixed with English, Hindi and African languages, used by the slaves and labourers to communicate with the French settlers during the colonial times. A melodious, easy and straightforward language, the Mauritian creole is a beautiful reflexion of the local population. It is also common for Mauritians to speak and understand additional oriental languages such as Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Mandarin, telegu among others because of the different origins of the people.
But besides this, English and French are the two languages which are spoken, written and understood by the whole population, for being taught at school from pre-primary section. English is often referred to as the official language of the island, even though this is not written in our constitution. Again because of history, English is the preferred language for all administrative purposes, while French is the most common spoken language and will be heard on TV or written in newspapers.
Religion
Mauritius is a religiously diverse nation, with freedom of religion given as a constitutional right. The population is known to be very pious and each religion is respected by each and everyone on the island. As such, each religion on the island is granted a religious public holiday, which is celebrated by all. Hinduism is the major religion at 48.54%, followed by Christianity at 32.71%, Islam at 17.30% and Buddhism 0.18%. There are many outstanding religious places to visit when in Mauritius, such as red-roofed church in Cap Malheureux and the holy lake, Ganga Talao.
Cultures
The culture of the island is very diverse and unique based on the origins of the people. Such a mix of different cultures makes the culture of the Mauritians unique. Even though each person has his own beliefs and traditions, there has been an amazing natural blend of India, Africa, Asia and European, which can be felt, seen, tasted in the food, music, dance, crafts, literature, traditions of the island. For instance, The cuisine of Mauritius is a fusion of Creole, Chinese, European and Indian influences and tt is common for a combination of cuisines to form part of the same meal.
Mauritius was first discovered by the Arabs, who named the island Dina Arobi, but they did not settle.
1507 – 1513: First visit by the Portuguese who named the island Mauritius and neighbouring islands as the Mascarene Islands after Pedro Mascarenhas.
1638 – 1710: Dutch colonization era. Numerous governors were appointed, but continuous hardships such as cyclones, droughts, pest infestations, lack of food became too much and the island was abandoned in 1710.
1715 – 1810: In September 1715, the French landed and named the island "Isle de France". It was only from 1735, with the arrival of the French governor, Mahé de La Bourdonnais, that "Isle de France" started developing effectively.
1810: The British landed in large numbers in the north of the island and rapidly overpowered the French, who capitulated. "Isle de France" was renamed Mauritius and ceded to Great Britain. In the act of capitulation, the British guaranteed that they would respect the languages, the customs, the laws and the traditions of the inhabitants.
1968 : 12 March – Mauritius becomes an independent country.
1976: First liberal elections and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam becomes the first Prime Minister.
1992: Mauritius becomes a Republic.
The local cuisine in Mauritius is an amazing blend of Indian, Arabic, African, Asian and European flavours. Its history has brought people from several origins onto the island, who brought with them their spices, flavours and ways of cooking, which makes eating in Mauritius today a real delight.
The locals eat mostly Indian based dishes such as curry, chutney, rougaille (tomato cooked creole style) but which have been adapted accompanied with rice or chapatis. The next biggest influence is the Chinese cuisine, which is also the favourite cuisine of many locals.
When visiting the island, there are a few local delicacies to try if one is tempted to discover the local food. Street food such as ‘gateau piment, samoussa, baja, dipain frire’ are some of the snacks you can try. As main meals, the locals love the ‘dholl puri, mine frite (fried noodles), riz frite (fried rice), bol renverse (upside down bowl) or the boulette (meat balls or seafood balls) or briani.
To wash all this food down, the ‘alouda’, a refreshing milk based and flavoured drink, is worth a taste. And of course, the local rhum and Phoenix beer are not to be missed.
The current population of Mauritius is 1,271,323 as of June 2019, based on the latest United Nations estimates. The population density is 626 per Km2 (1,622 people per mi2), showing how densely populated the country is. 39.2 % of the population live in Plaine Wilhems, where most of the towns are situated. The median age in Mauritius is 35.9 years, with a life expectancy of 74.5 years old, which is above the average age life expectancy of the global population. The fertility rate as at 2017 is estimated at 1.75 children per woman, meaning that the population is decreasing in size and growing older, as seen in the general life expectancy of the population.
Mauritius has no indigenous people as all the population arrived from Indian, Africa, China to work with the French and English settlers as artisans, labourers or administrators. This has resulted in a melting pot of cultures. Many of the Mauritian people have Indian roots, which make up around 48.5% of the population. Indians came to Mauritius as indentured labourers under British rule in the 19th century, once slavery had been abolished. Around 27% of the population is made up of Mauritian Creoles, the Afro-Mauritians, whose ancestors were from Africa and Madagascar and made to work on sugar plantations as slaves during French colonisation. Approximately 3% of the Mauritian population is of Chinese origin, the Sino-Mauritians, who came to the island initially as merchants, and only 2% of the population is made up of Franco Mauritians.
Oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere, Pamplemousses Botanical Garden boasts a variety of indigenous plants and fauna including 85 varieties of Palm trees, giant water lilies, giant tortoises, deer and the magnificent Chateau Mon Plaisir. Located 15 minutes from Port Louis, it can be visited on its own or as part of the Dodo’s trail tour. Opening hours: 08.30-17.30 everyday including public holidays.
80m high waterfalls, Chamarel Waterfalls is a wonderful sight and even more impressive after a good summer rainfall. The best viewpoint is found on the way to the chamarel seven coloured earth, which is also the only access to the viewpoint. Ideally discover this amazing site via the Wild South West tour or a more authentic way is with ebike chamarel discovery or more adventurous is the hiking to the bottom of the waterfalls.
Trou aux Cerfs is a dormant volcano, which contrinuted to the creation of Mauritius some 20 million years ago. It is 605m above sea level, making it one of the best view points over the island. It has also an excellent jogging track that goes around the crater and is very popular with the locals living in the vicinity of Curepipe and Floreal. A stop at Trou aux Cerfs is included in the Wild South West tour and other day packages.
Grand Bassin is a crater lake, situated on the southwest coast of the island. To the local hindus, it is a known as Ganga Taloa, a holy lake representing the River Ganges of India. Ganga Talao is also guarded by two impressive statues of Shiva and Durga, each culminating to 33m high. Discover the ganga talao though our Wild South West sightseeing tour. The holy lake can be visited any time and is free.
Black River Gorges, situated in the south west corner of Mauritius, is the biggest national park of the island covering almost 2% of the island. The national park is home to the island’s most endangered bird species, the kestrel, eco parakeet and pink pigeon. For nature and adventure lovers, the park offers 60km of exciting trails of different levels of difficulty and offering amazing vistas and encounters.
Ile aux Cerfs is the picture-perfect spot, with its white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Nestled on the east coast, in the largest lagoon of Mauritius, the island is well equipped with restaurants, bars, water sports activities including parasailing, an 18 hole golf course, a golf club and filaos trees offering lots of shade to have a relaxing day. Ile aux Cerfs can be accessed by ferry boat, by cruise, speedboat or pirates boat.
No. 1: A chilled Phoenix beer is best enjoyed on the beach under the filaos trees. No.2: Local rum, excellent as cocktails. No. 3: For non alcoholic refreshments, a chilled alouda (milk base) or a refreshing panokon water (lemon and ginger base) are the most welcome in our hot weather.
Our local food is an amazing fusion of flavours and spices from our different local cultures. Our best of are: a spicy rougaille saucisse and lentils (creole food), fried noodles or boulettes (Chinese food), a good briani (muslim origin) or a chicken curry and farata (indian origin).
Sunday picnic at the beach. If you want to feel like a local, spend a Sunday at the public beach and be part of the local Sunday gathering with sega music blasting out on one side and on the other a group gathered playing live music while the children sing, dance or play football.
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