Mauritius

Not just a honeymoon beach. The interior and the food are the surprise

Mauritius is best known as a honeymoon destination and the beaches genuinely are excellent, ringed by a coral reef that creates calm turquoise lagoons almost the whole way round. What that reputation obscures is a mountainous volcanic interior and one of the most interesting food cultures in the Indian Ocean.

The population is a mix of Indian, African, Chinese, French and Creole heritage, and the food follows: dholl puri from Indian tradition sold on street corners, Chinese-influenced noodles, French pastry and Creole curries. Port Louis central market is the place to work through it.

Inland, Black River Gorges has the last of the native forest and endemic birds including the pink pigeon, saved from near extinction. Chamarel has the seven coloured earths and a waterfall. Le Morne, a basalt monolith, is a UNESCO site because escaped enslaved people took refuge on it. The dodo lived only here, and was extinct within about a century of Dutch arrival.

Annual events and festivals

• Thaipoosam Cavadee (Jan-Feb) — Tamil devotees pierce their bodies and carry decorated wooden arches. Intense and remarkable.
• Maha Shivaratri (Feb-Mar) — a pilgrimage to Grand Bassin, a crater lake, by hundreds of thousands in white.
• Chinese Spring Festival (Jan-Feb) — firecrackers and wax cakes in Port Louis Chinatown.
• Divali (Oct-Nov) — a public holiday with lamps across the island.
• Eid al-Fitr (varies) — a public holiday for the Muslim community.
• Independence Day (12 Mar) — marks 1968 independence from Britain.
• Pere Laval pilgrimage (Sep) — a Catholic pilgrimage to the tomb of a missionary.
• Abolition of Slavery Day (1 Feb) — commemorated at Le Morne.
• Ganesh Chaturthi (Aug-Sep) — idols immersed in rivers and the sea.
• Sega performances (year round) — the national music and dance, of Creole and African origin. UNESCO listed.