The Government House in Port Louis is one of the oldest building we can find still standing graciously and dates back since the French colony. Whilst it wasn’t originally like it looks today, the Government House began construction under the first french governors of the island, namely Nicolas de Maupin (1729 – 1735) and Mahé …
A now-rare village scene where these courageous hawkers or street vendors would overload themselves with the maximum items they could provide to their customers and would then roam the streets of their regions to earn their living. Back in the past, this was a common practice where in order to earn a decent living, these …
Mauritius has been cultivating tea since the french colonial times and even today tea is still being cultivated around various upper lands of the country. True to say that the number of Tea Factories have certainly declined but the plantations have remained. As most societies around the world, tea forms part of an important part …
Cap Malheureux is a village in Mauritius located in Rivière du Rempart District. The village is administered by the Cap Malheureux Village Council under the aegis of the Rivière du Rempart District Council. The name “Cap Malheureux” comes from French meaning “Cape of Bad Luck”. It was given by the French who occupied the island …
Nearly completely disappeared, the ox-cart was once very much used in Mauritius for the transport of sugar cane from the fields to the factories during the cane harvest seasons. Whilst motorised vehicles wasn’t yet available, the few alternatives remained the ox-cart and the railways back in the days. Farmers raised oxes and the animals were …
Since the early colonial days up to now, Mauritius has known many improvements and additions in the road network. In the beginning there were barely very few roads and the rest was natural forest. Little by little, whilst civilisation began to grow towards the centre of the island the road network as well began to …
After that the British took control of the island back in 1810, they decided to errect a fort on the ruins of an older french fortification on the hill of ‘Petite Montagne’ fearing that the french might try to invade and possession of the island again. The fort, which was given the name of the …
Found at the complete left end of the Mahebourg waterfront, the Pointe des Regates most probably bears its name due to the place where ‘Regates’ competitions are organized every year since ages. Another famous part about this place is that it also actually bears a famous monument commemorating the Battle of Grand Port of 1810 …
The Black River Gorges, now National Park, is in the hilly south-western part of Mauritius. It was proclaimed on June 15, 1994 and is managed by the National Parks and Conservation Service. It covers an area of 67.54 km² including humid upland forest, drier lowland forest and marshy heathland. Facilities for visitors include two information centres, …
Mauritius’ first post office was opened on December 21, 1772 when the island was under French rule. Mail was delivered internally and by ship to and from France and India. Great Britain took over the island on December 3, 1810, and continued the overseas mail service. The internal service apparently dwindled and terminated but was …
Seeing Port Louis and the Harbour during the late 1960s or early 1970s gives us a glimpse of how the docks were structured and we can also see how close those big ships were. It looks like the railways were recently dismantled and the old station and hangar still accessible. The train station was still …
Found near Cassis in Port Louis, Bain des Dames is another fishing spot quite close to the harbour and the beach is not having the reputation for being quite sandy too. Most of the time people will be spending their time their to enjoy the loneliness and quiteness of the place and as it is …
After our first article about these old little beautiful wooden houses of the Mauritian past, we continue our quest for more of them still remaining here and there round the island in this second part. To say, these ‘maison creole’ / colonial buildings are indeed quite eye-catching in wherever region they are situated and get …
Since the Colonial times, the way houses were built was completely different from nowadays. At that time, houses were constructed mainly with rocks as the base and wood and some metal as the main structure. The architects of the time somehow managed to impress with the designs and symmetry achieved. With time, evolution brought concrete …
During the years 1950 – 1970s, whilst not many families had a television set, the Government had set up the mobile cinema to provide entertainment to the inhabitants. The structure was a mobile vehicle equipped with a projector and the display screen hanged outside, be it on a tree or a building wall etc. Shows …
Renowned for its authenticity, the celebrated La Pirogue hotel and spa is well versed in the art of Mauritian hospitality. This 4 star Mauritian hotel forms part of the Sun Resorts group of hotels and has enjoyed a solid reputation for romance and excellent service since its creation in 1976. La Pirogue Hotel can be …
In 1942, when Mauritius was a Crown colony, the government decided to build a small airport at Plaine Magnien near Mahébourg. The airport was used to import products from the United Kingdom and its colonies, as well as for exports. The airport was used as a military base for the Royal Air Force during World …
Found in the south east of Mauritius, Blue Bay is well known for being the best beach for swimming and snorkelling due to its marine park. While the area around Blue Bay has been a long-established favourite with tourists for its great beaches and crystal-clear waters, the majority of the south coast has no beach, …
During the years 1970s, the Port Louis harbour was a very pleasant attraction as we could admire the big ships coming close to the waterfront. At the time, the waterfront wasn’t yet considered an entertainment centre compared to now with the Caudan Waterfront built during the 1990s. At the far end, we could still see …
Grand Sable beach found in the lower part of Grand Bay village was before the construction of the Royal Palm Hotel a famous accessible beach where anyone could enjoy the sunny weathers. Now that the Hotel has taken over that beach, it is hardly accessible by Mauritians except if you are a customer of the …