The most famous quote about Mauritius is probably this quote that Mark Twain mentioned in his personal travelogue "Equatorial Wanderings": "From one citizen you gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius", which means "God created Mauritius before he created heaven, and that heaven was actually created according to Mauritius." "Indeed, Mauritius is extremely rich in nature and culture, with excellent sea and land views, and is the most repeat tourist destination in the world.
Mauritius is extremely rich in nature and culture, with excellent sea and land views, and is the most repeat tourist destination in the world.
"Paradise Island" Mauritius
Although Mauritius is small, only 2,040 square kilometers, less than one-third of Shanghai, but it is one of the few rich countries in Africa, with a per capita GDP of US$11,360 in 2020, with manufacturing, finance, tourism and communications as the four pillars of the economy, known as the "Switzerland of Africa". It has a comfortable subtropical climate, clean and warm waters, unforgettable sandy beaches, a variety of tropical flora and fauna and hospitable locals.
Mauritius is one of the few rich countries in Africa and is known as the "Switzerland of Africa".
Located in the southwest corner of Mauritius, the Mona Hills cultural landscape is the most frequently photographed landmark on Mauritian postcards.
There are also two World Heritage Sites, one is the Apravasi Gat Immigration Transit Point we mentioned in the previous issue, and the other is the Mona Mountain Cultural Landscape, which was selected in 2008. Mount Mona, full name Mona Brabant, is a peninsula in the southwest corner of the island of Mauritius that stretches into the Indian Ocean, with a basalt mountain 556 meters high. Mount Monne, with its beautiful beaches, hidden waterfalls, blue lagoons and historical significance as a refuge for fugitive slaves, is one of the most frequently photographed landmarks on postcards in Mauritius.
Mount Mona, a steep mountain, with beautiful beaches, hidden waterfalls, and azure lagoons.
Mount Monne, whose name is "Le Morne", means sad and sad, so Mount Mona is also known as the "rock of sorrow".
Mont Mona, World Heritage Site
Mount Monne, whose name is "Le Morne", means sad and sad, so Mount Mona is also known as the "rock of sorrow". This nomenclature is closely linked to the history of Mauritius. Due to its location at the crossroads of shipping between the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, before the opening of the Suez Canal, Mauritius was an important transit point for European fleets after crossing the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and it was also a transit point for the slave trade in eastern Africa during the slave trade era.
The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom were engaged in the slave trade and trafficking in Mauritius.
The Netherlands, France and Britain were engaged in the slave trade in Mauritius, and a large number of blacks from East Africa, South Africa and Madagascar were traded and trafficked as slaves here. According to statistics, from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century, the death rate of slaves on slave ships to Mauritius was as high as 20%. In 1814, the British took advantage of the Napoleonic Wars to take it from the French, and Mauritius imported a large number of slaves, prisoners and freemen from Africa, India and Southeast Asia to Mauritius to settle.
Through the heat, plague and shipwrecks, the slaves who managed to reach Mauritius faced two more brutal fates: either to work hard in sugar cane cultivation under the French and British, or to set sail again and die to the more distant American continent or Australia. So many slaves wanted to escape, but Mauritius was an island in the ocean, and the rough waves blocked the slaves' hometown, so these people hid in this mountain of Mona, where the sea and sky meet. This remote, wooded and walled basalt mountain became a refuge for fugitive slaves.
The remote, wooded and walled Basalt Mona Mountains became a refuge for fugitive slaves.
As fugitive slaves increased, they established small settlements in the caves and hilltops of Mount Mona.
As fugitive slaves increased, they established small settlements in the caves and hilltops of Mount Mona. By 1835, as the capitalist economy and abolitionist movements intensified, Britain abolished slavery and replaced inefficient slaves with indentured labour, while there were still more than 6,500 slaves in Mauritius. In order to convey the news of the abolition to the fugitive slaves on Mona Mountain, the British sent an armed detachment to Mona Mountain, but they were misunderstood by the fugitive slaves as the military police who captured them, so for freedom, they jumped off the cliff one after another... Blood, life and the ocean became one.
Surrounded by cliffs, Mona Hill is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Mount Mona overlooks the lagoons, beaches and hidden waterfalls below
Mont Mona thus became a symbol of the slaves' fight, resistance, suffering and sacrifice for freedom, and witnessed the transformation of Western powers from barbarism to civilization, and every February 1 became the Mauritius Abolition Day. In 2008, Mount Monet was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In 2008, Mount Monet was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Monument to the Mona Slaves in Mauritius
"No freedom, no life!" To this day, the verdant Mona Mountain is often home to people of all colors singing, dancing and drinking, celebrating a rare holiday, or commemorating a bygone life. Perhaps this is what those fugitive slaves were looking for, and the meaning of their determination.
With a drop of more than 3,500 meters, the underwater waterfall of Mount Mona in Mauritius.
The world's No. 1 underwater waterfall
On the sea side under Mona Mountain, there is also a world-famous undersea waterfall, with a drop of more than 3,500 meters, to know that the world's first waterfall on land Angel Waterfall has a drop of only 979.6 meters, and the mainland's famous Huangguoshu Waterfall is only 77.8 meters, you can imagine how spectacular the Mona Mountain undersea waterfall is. Even through satellite maps, you can still see the overwhelming silver-white "current" below sea level tumbling into the bottomless abyss on the edge of a steep cliff.
Angel Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and is located on the Chulon River, a tributary of the Caroni River in Venezuela in South America.
Conan Doyle's The Lost World is inspired by the flat-topped plateau of southeastern Venezuela. The waterfall cascades down the steep walls of the Oyantepui Mountains.
But all this is just the amazing phenomenon we see from the two-dimensional plan, in fact, the sea directly above the underwater waterfall of Mount Mona is calm, without the sound and spirit of the waterfall rushing down. This is because Mauritius itself is a volcanic island, with the continuous eruption of submarine volcanoes, lava continues to accumulate and eventually rushes out of the sea to become an island, but because the lava is vertically piled upward, so the continental shelf of Mauritius is very steep, simply understood, Mauritius is located at the top of an undersea mountain, because some of the ancient lava collapses due to wave erosion or other reasons, there is a deep trench under the sea.
Mo Shout Underwater Waterfall is still clearly visible even on satellite images.
Surface currents, under the blowing tides and prevailing winds, the white fine sand continues to fall to the bottom of the sea.
The surface current, under the tide and prevailing wind, the white fine sand constantly falls to the deep trench under the sea, so the clear sea water under the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays, a magnificent underwater waterfall appears in front of the world. This has also become a must-visit natural landscape for tourists to visit Mona Mountain, feeling the magic of nature.
Mount Mona in Mauritius with underwater waterfalls
Mount Mona in Mauritius with crystal clear beaches and lagoons
But whether it is the World Heritage Site of Mount Mona or the world's largest underwater waterfall, they are only the tip of the iceberg of the "paradise island" of Mauritius, but they are enough for visitors to feel the charm of nature, the shock of geography and the baptism of culture! As Confucius said: "Eat and drink, bend your tongue and sleep, and enjoy it." Unrighteous and rich and noble, like clouds to me. ”
The triviality of firewood, rice, oil and salt should not be the whole of life, and in the daily life of fireworks, we should also cherish poetry and distance.
For every small and ordinary us, rushing in a hurry, the triviality of firewood, rice, oil and salt should not be the whole of life, in the daily fireworks, we should also cherish poetry and distance.
Previous review: Mauritius: What a nirvana rebirth has been experienced by an African island nation from purgatory on earth to paradise
Note: This article is the second issue of the "Paradise Island" Mauritius series, just a family word, welcome to correct and forward. In addition, the picture in the article is quoted from the Internet, if there is a copyright private link, please delete.