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For such a small country – at just 2,030sq km it would fit snugly within the M25 – Mauritius has a rich and varied history. Everyone from Dutch seafarers to Chinese merchants, not to mention Arab spice traders and British colonialists, seem to have made their home on the main island and its satellites, and, as a result, the country is a fascinating cultural hotchpotch. You’re just as likely to eat French haute cuisine as you are Indian curries, and Diwali and Eid are celebrated with the same gusto as Christmas. Did we mention that it’s beautiful, too? The island drips with the sort of greenery you’d expect of somewhere lying just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, and its white-sand beaches and azure waters, which swell over the coral reefs that completely encircle the island, have long attracted the newly wedded and heavy-walleted.
Dodos were famously only ever found on Mauritius – that is until Dutch colonists killed the last one in the 1680s, sending these large, flightless and, presumably, fairly stupid birds into posterity as potent symbols of man’s destructive influence on the natural world. See skeletons and other dodo paraphernalia at The Dodo Museum, near Government House, in Port Louis.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Mauritius
A luxury, all-suite resort, Constance Le Prince Maurice, set on a beautiful beachfront and in stunning tropical gardens, is where the beautiful people go – and bring their children.
Set in around 20 acres of beautiful tropical gardens, The Oberoi is a honeymooner’s heaven that offers everything you need for an idyllic island break.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
14 January Spectacular Thai Pongal is both a celebration of the end of the Mauritian harvest and the beginning of the Tamil new year, in which cattle are painted in bright colours and then fed bowls of rice. May The winner of the Le Prince Maurice literary prize, a competition that aims to recognise ‘writers of the heart, is announced at the eponymous Poste de Flacq hotel. The award switches annually between books written in French and English to reflect Mauritius’ two principal languages. 9 September Pere Laval Day is when thousands of Mauritians of all faiths come to Sainte Croix to celebrate at the tomb of the Christian missionary who devoted his life to the abolition of slavery. Even though he has never been canonised, Laval is considered to be the island’s patron saint. October/November Hindus all over the island celebrate Diwali, the festival of light, which sees Mauritius’ towns and villages illuminated by rows of twinkling lanterns and candles.
With stunning views of the water and outlying islands, Safran, part of Trou d'eau Douce’s Le Touessrok resort on the east coast, is probably the finest Indian restaurant in the country. Its menus, overseen by Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, combine classic Eastern flavours with Western cooking methods – try spiced pineapple in coconut milk or palm-heart kofte.
In the tiny port of Soulliac on Mauritius’ south coat, Le Batelage is the place to go if you want to eat delicious fresh fish in an atmospheric courtyard while birds twitter around you.
One of the four restaurants at the Paradis Hotel & Golf Club in the southwest corner of the island, Brabant, surrounded by water, lays out wonderful buffets of imaginative Mauritian and Creole dishes, many of which are prepared in front of you.
Overlooking the sea, this fine-dining restaurant, part of the Royal Palm hotel in the far north of Mauritius, has justly gained an international reputation for its beautiful French-Mauritian cuisine, which makes excellent use of local ingredients. It’s surely one of the only places in the world where you can sit beneath chandeliers and feel a sea breeze on your face.
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
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