Mauritius Island Paradise

It has been said that Mauritius was made first and then heaven was copied from it. Well have not been to heaven yet I'm afraid I can't compare the two but the statement doesn't seem too far off the mark.

I went for 10 days recently and saw most of what the island had to offer and for anyone thinking of going there, I would say don't hesitate just do it.

In this article I will be telling you a little bit about its history and a lot about the sites and of course where to go and when it is best to travel there as well as a little about the climate and people.

The first people to set foot on the island of Mauritius were Arab sailors and merchants. Arabs merchant ships have been sailing the Indian Ocean for centuries.

In or around 1507, the Portuguese seaman Fernandez Pereira saw Mauritius and named it Cerne.

The group of islands consisting of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues were given the names of Mascarenes after the Portuguese captain, Pero Mascarenhas.

During French colonial rule, from 1767 to 1810, the capital and main port, Port Louis, became an important centre for trade, privateering, and naval operations against the British. French planters established sugarcane estates using slaves from Africa.

The French colloquial language, which evolved among these slaves is referred to as Creole and has become the everyday language shared by most of the island's inhabitants.

French is used in the media and literature, and the Franco-Mauritian descendants of the French settlers continue to dominate the sugar industry and economic life of modern Mauritius.

The British captured the island in 1810 and gave up sovereignty when Mauritius became independent in 1968.

The British abolished slavery but provided for cheap labour on the sugar estates by bringing 500,000 indentured workers from the Indian subcontinent.

The political history of Mauritius in the twentieth century revolves around the gradual economic and political empowerment of the island's Indian majority.

Depending on when you want to go, there are two seasons: Summer (November to April) with an average temperature of 30 degrees and winter (May to September)with an average temperature of 24 degrees.

The west has tremendous sunsets which I can vouch for having stayed on that side of the island, it also has a few pods of dolphins that visit the region and is probably the hottest part of the island.

The south has some of the most beautiful landscape and is fairly rugged if you like that sort of thing but does have slightly stronger winds

The east has some of the best beaches and hotels but needs to be visited in the Mauritius summer as it has fairly strong trade winds which in the winter can make it feel quite cool.

The North is fairly hot and is where the capital is located, All the hotels are located on the coast and range from affordable to 6 star boutique hotels

The good thing about Mauritius is there are lots of things to do, primarily water sports but it doesn't matter if you're not that keen on the water as there are other things to do too. I have a few suggestions as having been there recently I can recommend some of the fun excursions I took with my wife.

Blue Safari: In the town of the grand bay on the north of the island is Blue Safari which has submarines and sub-scooters which are apparently unique in the world.

They have two submarines that take you down to a depth of 30 metres and you can visit a shipwreck and see lots of fish etc then they have 6 sub scooters which allow you and a partner to get on and drive like a motorbike under the water at a depth of 3metres with a 360degree glass dome over your heads this is perfect even for non-swimmers, you get accompanied by divers and get to feed fish.

Casela bird park: Here not only are there lots of lovely birds to look at but you can walk with lions which although scary is an absolute must, you get to walk with two lions and get your pictures taken with them for over an hour, you even get videoed doing it. You can also see leopard zebras and tigers here!!

Catamaran: On the East Coast you can meet up with a catamaran and cruise to isle aux cerfs while enjoying a barbecue and open bar...Trust me its worth it

These are just a few of the things you can do there is also botanical gardens, the city centre, water skiing, dolphin watching and lots more.

Where to stay is a question asked by most people when thinking of going to Mauritius, I myself stayed at the Hilton on the west coast which was top-class.

There is also le tusserok on the east coast, also Sugar beach and La Pirogue next door to the Hilton is supposed to be very good for a better idea of the hotels check out www.mauritius.com