26 Sep Facts about Mauritius

Fun facts about Mauritius

WE ALL KNOW THE DODO WAS FROM MAURITIUS, BUT WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW(NOT KNOW) ?

Mauritius was made first, and then heaven

Heaven was copied after Mauritius

Charles Darwin came to Mauritius in 1836 on the 29th of April and departed on on 9th of May of the same year

Mauritius is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs(177km)

Mauritius is one of a small number of countries named after a person. Maurice, Prince of Orange , prince of Netherlands ,full name Maurits Van Nassau

The island had a few other name. Below , in chronological order of it’s history

• Arabs – Dina Arobi – Circa 1502
• Islands around Mauritius ( Reunion, Rodrigues) was name by the Portuguese (1507) – Ilhas Mascarenhas ( Mascarene islands*). Still know to this date as such
• Dutch , by the Dutch East India Company(1598 – 1710)- Mauritius
• The French named it –  Isle de France (1715 – 1810)
• England – Mauritius 1810 – now

*The Mascarene Islands is not the same  as Vanilla Islands, which include Seychelles, Madagascar, Comoros and Mayotte.

The Pamplemousses Botanical garden is the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere built in 1770

Champ de Mars is the oldest race course in the southern hemisphere

The Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest horse-racing club in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world

There are over 40 beaches to discover

Highest mountain is 828m

National is English everyone speaks French and Creole – Tou Korek

Mauritius is only 60km by 40km

The island was uninhabited before 1638

Mauritius has the highest population density in Africa and one of the highest in the world

You can drive around Mauritius in a day but you wouldn’t, there are so many Places to Visit

Mauritius is a Republic and both in the commonwealth and Francophone

In 2017, Mauritius was named one of only four countries in the world which had no involvement in ongoing international or domestic conflict and no tensions with neighbouring countries.

Mauritius does not maintain a standing army

It’s said that author Lewis Carroll was inspired to write his famous book Alice in Wonderland in part by a stuffed dodo at Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Le Morne Brabant mountain was used as a refuge for escaped slaves who formed settlements in the caves on the summit

Freedom of religion is a constitutional right

Trou aux Biches in Mauritius was named the world’s best beach destination in 2011

Mauritius has the only underwater waterfall in the world