October 29, 2023, 10:05 am
Mauritius is located approximately 870 kilometers east of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean and, together with Réunion and Rodrigues, is part of the Mascarene Islands group. After its discovery by Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas at the beginning of the 16th century, the island served as a maritime base for the Portuguese. Almost a century later, Mauritius came under Dutch rule only to be conquered by the French in the 18th century and renamed “Ile de France”. At that time the island was almost completely deforested and many endemic animal species, such as the dodo, became extinct. The French established large-scale sugar cane plantations, cultivated mainly by slaves from Madagascar and East Africa. In 1810 there was another change of power and the British took over the government after the Mauritius campaign. The island, which is just one square kilometer in area, was shaped by all the powers and by the great wave of immigration from India after the abolition of slavery. Freed slaves were no longer willing to work on sugar plantations, so indentured laborers were recruited from India. In 1871, the Indian population in Mauritius was 60 percent. Despite 150 years of British rule, the French language and much of the culture have been preserved. Mauritius has been independent since 1968 and is one of the few stable democracies in Africa.
Although Mauritius’ vegetation suffered enormous damage due to European conquerors and large tracts of ancient rainforest no longer exist, the island is still a hotspot of biological diversity and landforms: in addition to ancient forest areas, there are volcanic mountains, savannahs, plains and two large national parks -Areas with many endemic plants. Nature conservation and sustainability are very important in Mauritius. The island’s government has committed to making Mauritius an environmentally friendly travel destination by 2030. The Sustainable Mauritius project is funded by the European Union. It aims to raise awareness of sustainable tourism products and thus create a market for them. In the future, tourist facilities should not cause environmental destruction, but rather work to preserve natural areas. In this sense, they also seek to promote something like gentle and natural tourism that respects the island’s traditions.
Near Tamarin, where Mauritius’ surfing hotspot is located, the Grande Riviere Noire empties into the sea. The river comes directly from the mountains and Black River Gorges National Park. This is where Yan De Maroussem, the pioneer in the field of hiking and trekking tourism in Mauritius, works. He founded Yanature almost 20 years ago and since then has taken small groups on excursions through the Black River gorges, Morne Brabant, a World Heritage Site, and the Black River Peak, the highest mountain in Mauritius (828 m). Ursula Burkert went hiking with Yan De Maroussem, interviewed surf pioneer Cyril Thévenau, visited a rum distillery, took part in a Ravanne drumming course and discovered Creole cuisine by Kot Marie-Michèlle in the interior of the island.
service
https://www.mymauritius.travel/de
Kot Marie-Michèlle Hotel table
Chapelle Road, Midlands, Mauritius
Tel: +230578913271
[email protected]
Yanture
https://www.trekkingmauritius.com/
Tamarin:
The surfing story of Cyril Thèvenau (surf-maurice.com)
Free podcasts:
Environment Travel Shortcuts – XML
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Composer: Aurélien Chambaud
Title: INDIAN OCEAN – MAURITIUS
Title: Sugar Cane Sega
Duration: 01:25 min
Label: Koka Media KOK 2349
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