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7 things you need to know about Mauritius

Planning a Mauritius escape? Get the inside info you need.
Mauritius is famous for a number of things – white sands, all-year-round sun and being the perfect honeymoon destination. But there’s more to Mauritius than meets the eye. For starters, it’s a great place for diving, whale watching and opportunities to meet some pretty interesting wildlife. They’ve also got plenty of interesting facts hidden up their sleeve, and here our seven of our favourites.

1. WEIRD WORLD RECORDS

In April 2012, Mauritius was awarded a Guinness World Record for organising the world’s largest shower. It lasted over five minutes and saw over 200 people together in shorts and bikinis stood under a giant makeshift shower on Flic en Flac beach, beating the previous record of 152 people.

2. FAMOUS WILDLIFE

Mauritius was home to the famous dodo bird and it was the only place it lived. The extinct creature, which was over three feet tall, is also now their national bird. Author Lewis Carroll is said to have been inspired by the dodo, even including it in his famous book Alice in Wonderland in 1865.

3. IT'S AWARD WINNING

Mauritius is known for its beaches, so it’s hardly surprising to know that they’ve won awards for them. But their award cabinet must be looking pretty full, as they’ve also won many other accolades over the years from big names such as World Travel Awards and World Countries Awards. They include world’s leading honeymoon destination, world’s friendliest destination, best country in the world, and best food in the world.

4. SUGAR

Sugar cane is the major crop grown in Mauritius, with 90% of the island’s fields dedicated to growing it. It’s great news for rum lovers, as a lot of the sugar cane grown is used to make the famous Mauritian spirit, so there’s plenty to go round.

5. UNUSUAL TRADITIONS

While most people around the world are happy to receive presents with both hands, people of Mauritius will only receive gifts with their right hand - as the left is considered to be unclean. Another Mauritian tradition is sundowner, where every evening people take a moment to relax and enjoy a drink – usually a rum-based cocktail – while the sun goes down. Now that’s a tradition we can get behind.

6. UNDERWATER WATERFALL

Mauritius has defied logic and gravity with their very own underwater waterfall. Okay, it’s not quite an underwater waterfall, it’s just an illusion. What’s really happening is that sand from the shores of Mauritius are being driven off a high coastal shelf by ocean current down into darker ocean depths. Whatever the reason, we think it looks pretty cool.

7. FAMOUS FANS

Famous author Mark Twain was a big fan, once writing “You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius”.
Ready to find out more about Mauritius?

There’s loads more info on what to do in Mauritius, as well as some great deals, on our website.

You can also check out our article on 5 things you didn’t know you could do in Mauritius.

Author: Abi Payne-Humphries

Published: 06.09.2016

Holiday Type

Destination

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