Travel Guide Sainte-Rose

The Sainte-Rose marina, protected by black stones, is not ideal for swimming, but for Sunday picnics. To the right of the obelisk, a path leads you along the shoreline. Sainte-Rose's main source of income is the sea, and fishing in particular: tuna, snapper, red snapper... Sainte-Rose's culinary specialty is goldfish curry. Sainte-Rose is also one of the few diving sites (for experienced divers only) outside the coral reef on the west coast.Bordered by the Grand-Brûlé and the Rivière de l'Est, the town has been inhabited since 1727, initially belonging to the Sainte-Suzanne district (which encompassed most of the east) and then to the Saint-Benoît district. It became a commune in 1790 and developed as a strategic defense against the English. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British, who had set up a base in Rodrigues, carried out reconnaissance operations on the Sainte-Rose side, in order to maintain a blockade on Réunion and Mauritius. The town, which once held out victoriously against the British in 1809, was the scene of one of the most famous battles of the English conquest.The town's agriculture developed rapidly, but Sainte-Rose remained isolated from the Beau Pays (the North) and Saint-Benoît by the Rivière de l'Est, until the construction of its magnificent suspension bridge in 1895. Unfortunately, access to the bridge is now forbidden (since 2016), as it has become dangerous due to lack of maintenance.