Grand Bassin (also known as Ganga Talao) is a crater lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 550 m (1,800 ft) above sea level. It is the largest natural lake in Mauritius.The lake is thought to be around 18 meters deep and is teeming with a healthy population of fish and eels, perhaps because of the leftover offerings they receive from Hindu pilgrims. However, it is strictly forbidden to fish here due to the sacred nature of the lake.
Ganga Talao Lake
Many people visit the site to pray, meditate, play with the local monkeys, or simply to walk by the lake and enjoy the gorgeous surrounding views.
In 2007 a huge statue of the Hindu god Shiva was unveiled and remains the tallest statue in Mauritius at about 33 metres high.
Grand Bassin is surrounded by candy-coloured statues of deities and Hindu temples. During Maha Shivaratri, which takes place at the end of February or beginning of March each year, half a million Hindus make a pilgrimage to the lake, the most holy place on the island. If you travel to Mauritius during this time, don’t miss this spectacular festival, which is one of the biggest Hindu celebrations outside of India. It’s a good idea to go with a guide who can give you a bit of background about all the deities depicted on the statues. Try to be respectful in the temples by wearing modest clothing and removing your shoes before going inside and do not disturb the devotees who are praying there.
Mauritius Grand Bassin Indian Temple
To fully grasp this festival’s significance, it is important to know the harsh history of the indentured Indian labourers in Mauritius.The Hindus in the island are the descendants of half a million indentured laborers, subjects of the British Empire brought to Mauritius in the nineteenth century with the fake promise of a better life. Disease was rife aboard the vessels crossing the Indian Ocean, with cholera, smallpox, malaria and yellow fever. Those who made it to the mainland worked as labourers in the sugarcane fields through tough conditions. It was not slavery, but it was far from what we call a normal healthy working environment.
From the top of Grand Bassin you get spectacular views of the surrounding area.
Rodrigues is a 108 sq km (42 sq mi) autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reefs with some tiny uninhabited islands off its coast.
Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens. It gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin. The island forms part of the larger territory of the Republic of Mauritius with the President as head of state and the Chief Commissioner as head of government.
In 2002, when it became an autonomous region of Mauritius, the island was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Rodrigues. Despite gaining autonomous status Rodrigues is financially dependent upon its sister island.
Rodrigues Island
Despite its small size, Rodrigues has so much to offer to the visitors. The language of Rodrigues is French based creole pidgin. The French language is mostly used by the local media. English is usually used in official documents and at the Regional Assembly. There are also some oriental languages such as Hindi and Bhojpuri spoken by the very few.
ADSL and WI-Fi Internet are accessible. There are also a number of free WI-Fi Spots, provided by the government.There are two mobile phone networks which serve the island, with access to international roaming.
Public buses run to the remotest corners of the island. There are also car, scooter, and motorcycle rental services available in the city. Taxi cabs are available and a number of them are stationed in the surroundings of the hotels.
The population of Rodrigues is estimated to be 41, 669 of inhabitants, with the vast majority being Creoles. You can also find Chinese traders and some Indian civil servants coming from Mauritius. The main religion is Roman Catholicism with small minorities of other religions like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists.
Rodrigues Island Boats
Here, women play an active part in the economy. You can find them in the fields, at the market and even at the sea.
Most of the economic activities of Rodrigues are fishing, stock breeding and cultivation, especially of onions, garlic and chili. The inhabitants’ income is derived from the export of cattle, sea products and food crops, but it is largely in deficit when compared to the costs of the imported products.
Chez Ronald Guest House and La Belle Rodriguaise at Graviers provide accommodation in Rodrigues island.
This is an islet which is also known for its sandy necklace beach encircling its shores, is located at 4 km to the west of Rodrigues. It is one and a half kilometre long and 250 metres wide.
Ile aux Cocos was declared a nature reserve in 1986. Therefore the authorities control the number of people visiting at a time. This means that you won’t have to fight with hundreds of tourists for a strip of sand.
You are only allowed a maximum of 4 hours on the island so as to not disturb the birds’ natural habitat.
Tours usually depart from Pointe du Diable and the boat trip lasts for about 1 hour. Depending on the tour company, a visit to Ile aux Cocos will cost between US$ 23.75 and 37.50 and includes the boat trip, lunch, and guided visit of the island.
Ile Aux Cocos
Ile Aux Cocos is also a bird sanctuary. The birds come and stay on the island during the summer, and at this time, up to 4500 birds can be seen on the island. The islet can be accessed by pirogue only with an authorization delivered by Discovery Rodrigues Company Limited. Authorised operators have access to the island for the day. It is forbidden to light fires on the island and only partial access is allowed to ensure the tranquility of the birds and their nestlings.
The islet is home to several species of seabirds including the lesser noddy, noddy, sooty tern, and fairy tern.
Two guards permanently stay on the island to keep an eye over the island. Thanks to these controls, the island remains a reproduction site for the species.
The neighbouring island, île aux Sables, which provides shelter to thousands of birds, is completely shut off to the public. In addition, fishing in the islets’ surroundings is not authorized so as to preserve the food resources of the birds that are fond of squids and small fishes.
Ile Aux Cocos
Scuba Diving programme for beginners in the marine park (2-5 meters). Qualified and licensed divers can perform exploration dives in the marine park (depth 5-10 meters). Depending on sea conditions experienced divers can perform scuba diving at Trou Mootoo, outside the lagoon.
Snorkelling and glass bottom boats will take you to the ship wreck outside the Blue Bay zone which is approximately about 10-15 minute boat ride. The one hour trip includes swimming and snorkelling.
A speed boat trip can be arranged to 1 or 2 hours depending on guest requirements. The trip will include visits to the famous islands of Iles aux Phares, île de la Passe and île aux Aigrettes. The first two islands for sightseeing and pictures and to watch îles aux Aigrettes from the boat itself. Boat capacity: 20 Pax (Minimum 4 pax per trip).
Aapravasi Ghat is a district of Port Louis. This was the first site chosen by the British Government in 1834 for the ‘great experiment’ in the use of indentured, instead of slave labour.
Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured labourers arrived from India at Aapravasi Ghat to work in the sugar plantations of Mauritius. The buildings of Aapravasi Ghat are among the earliest explicit manifestations of what was to become a global economic system and one of the greatest migrations in history.
Aapravasi Ghat is the remains of an immigration depot which was built in 1849 to receive indentured labourers from India, Eastern Africa, Madagascar, China and Southeast Asia to work on the island’s sugar estates. Other colonial powers adopted system of indentured labour in place of slavery. This resulted in a world-wide migration of more than two million indentured labourers, of which Mauritius received almost half a million.
Aapravasi Ghat Museum
At present, only half of the Immigration Depot area as it existed in 1865, remains. The rest of the complex was lost due to unchecked infrastructural development in the mid-20th century. However, original structural key components still stand. These include the remains of the sheds for the housing of the immigrants, kitchens, lavatories, a building used as a hospital block and a highly symbolic flight of 14 steps upon which all immigrants had to lay foot before entering the immigration depot. Â The Aapravasi Ghat site is now owned by the Ministry of Arts and Culture. The property is protected as National Heritage under the National Heritage Fund Act 2003 and the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund Act 2001. Â
Aapravasi Ghat
 UNESCO declared Aapravasi Ghat as a World Heritage Site in 2006. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in Mauritius, along with Le Morne Brabant.   Aapravasi is the Hindi word for “immigrant”, while ghat literally means “interface” , symbolically marking a transition between the old life and the new for the arriving indentured immigrants.
Pointe Canon is located in Port Mathurin and was used as a watch area during the British ruling. Nowadays, it serves as both a panoramic viewpoint and religious site. Pointe Canon has more than 300 inhabitants.
The place got its name from a cannon, placed on a promontory to monitor and protect the harbor. At the time, this “point” was appropriate, because erected on the heights of Port Mathurin, it was the ideal place to scan the horizons and thus detect the approach of enemy ships.
In the early 1950s, money was raised to buy a statue of the Virgin Mary from England to create a monument similar to Marie Reine de la Paix in Mauritius. The statue was then inaugurated in 1954. The statue, named Marie, Queen of Rodrigues, is 6 feet tall. Every August 15, the Rodriguans attend mass at the foot of the statue to commemorate the inauguration of the statue. It is not just a gathering site for the Catholics of the island, but is also a popular tourist site.
Marie Queen Of Rodrigues
From this viewpoint you will get a panoramic view of the whole capital including the market, bus terminal, the azure blue lagoon, harbor and neighboring villages. The place also offers a panoramic view of the bus station, rue François Leguât and the Winston Church Hill bridge. You can also witness disembarkation of the goods at the mooring of the MV Anna or the Mauritius Trochetia in port.
Pointe Canon also hosts the headquarters of the meteorological station. It is from this old observatory of the English era that the population receives the predictions of the weather.
The place is also a meeting place for French expatriates in Rodrigues to mark the French National Day.
There is a parking area next to the hairpin bend beside Pointe Canon Meteorological station.
Escale Vacances, Lacaze TiMay, Le Flamboyant Hotel , Hebergement Vue Sur Mer, Hebergement Fatehmamode and Chez Jenny,Villa Le Chapo are some of the accommodations near Pont Canon.
The lighthouse, otherwise known as the Pointe aux Caves Lighthouse, serves as guides for incoming ships to enter the harbour of Port Louis. It is 30-metre tall and is located at Albion, west coast of Mauritius. It stands on the edge of the cliff and overlooks the sea. It has iconic red and white stripes from top to bottom. It has four floors, a dome and a balcony that can be accessed by the steep staircase. It was inaugurated in 1910 and is still intact.
It is not recommended to visit the Albion Lighthouse on a windy day.
To access the top of the lighthouse, you will have to climb up the 98-step wooden and cast iron staircase and you will be rewarded with magnificent panoramic views of the entire coastline from Pointe aux Sables to Flic en Flac. Even walking along the trail that runs up to the lighthouse does offer breathtaking views over the shoreline. Under the cliffs there is an entrance to a cave which is inhabited by birds and bats.
It is a popular spot for photographers with the amazing background for pictures. The sunset promises the beautiful fusion of colours of the sky, sun and the sea.
This lighthouse is 30 meters tall and has four floors, a balcony, and a dome. The first floor has an electrical panel from where the other equipment of the lighthouse are controlled. The second floor of the lighthouse is a lens room which projects a red light that is pointed towards the entrance of the Port and it helps the sailors to locate the entrance to the port.
You can see enormous and well preserved old lenses in the dome. The system is rotated by an electric motor every night which generates a double flash in an interval of 15 seconds which can be seen even from a distance of 29 nautical miles. Just outside the dome, you can step on to the balcony to enjoy the magnificent views, the most phenomenal being the view of Montagne Jacquot.
Near the light house there are 4 interesting places to visit,t hey are Bagatelle Mall, Eureka Falls, Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape.
The largest company and the main employer for the Mahebourg area is Omnicane. The mill annually produces around 135,000 tons of Plantation White Sugar for the refinery, 400,000 tons of bagasse for its main cogeneration power plant, and 45,000 tons of molasses for the bioethanol distillery. Omnicane’s sugarcane mill processes 1.3 million tons of sugarcane a year and has a daily milling capacity of 8,500 tons.
