Mauritius is a favorite destination among travelers, whether you’re looking for adventure, luxury and pampering, or cheap holidays on an exotic island. Known worldwide for its white beaches and pristine waters, the country is unique in so many ways!
Here are a few interesting facts you might not know about Mauritius.
- Dotted around the main volcanic island of Mauritius, are a number of islets including Round Island and Ile D’Ambre.
- The national animal of Mauritius is the Dodo, a flightless bird that had its habitat here centuries ago, but is now extinct. The Dodo was found only on the island of Mauritius and nowhere else in the world.
- Lewis Carroll allegedly wrote his famous book “Alice in Wonderland” inspired by the Dodo.
- Mauritius’ population is approximately 1.3 million. Every year, the islands see on average around 1 million tourists.
- Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, is home to 40% of the nation’s population!
- The country does not have a standing army. Security operations and the military are supervised by the Commander of Police.
- Even though the official language of Mauritius is English, it is French that is used for general communication.
- Mauritius is one of the best protected and sustainable countries in the world
- The Seven Coloured Earths is a prominent tourist attraction in Chamarel. It is named this because the sand dunes are colored in yellow, brown, red, violet, blue, green and purple, creating an otherworldly sight.
- Paul and Virginie, the 18th century novel by Bernardin de St. Pierre, is set in Mauritius. The island nation was known back then as Ille de France.
- The locals receive or offer gifts only with the right hand, as the left one is considered unclean.
- Rum is very popular in Mauritius. There are several rum distilleries that allow tourists to visit the factories and see the process of rum making. The drink is available in a variety of flavors, from ginger or passion fruit to coffee or even chili!
These show just a glimpse of Mauritius.
This slice of paradise has so much beauty to it and so many secrets for you to discover that the only way to truly get to know it is to pack your bags and head over there!
Images by s_a_i_d_a and Natesh Ramasamy, used under the Creative Commons license.
Adding this destination to my travel bucket list now! I would love to visit this place and experience the beautiful water and land.
wow that hill!!! I’ve never heard of this little nation. I’ll have to look up where it is.
This looks absolutely beautiful!
I had actually never even heard of Mauritius – It looks stunning. Now I want to go. It looks like a dream location, and so many awesome things to check out!