SOUTHEAST ISLANDS
Five islets located a few hundred meters from the coast, two of them testify to the colonial past of Mauritius
Several hundred meters from the coast, planted at the edge of the reef off Mahébourg and Vieux Grand Port, there are five of them and two of them bear witness to Mauritius' colonial past. The island of La Passe conceals the remains of a French fort built at the end of the 18th century to defend Mauritius against the English invader. Ile aux Fouquets, still called Ile au Phare, was used as a prison for the Frenchman François Léguat and his companions at the time of the Dutch colonization in the 17th century. As its name indicates, it is topped by a semaphore built in 1864. The other islets (Vacoas, Flamants, Marianne) are virgin and constitute great spots for picnics, swimming and snorkeling.
Many service providers (receptives, catamaran or motorboat cruise companies, owners of guesthouses in the area, local fishermen...) organize excursions to these islets from the Pointe Jérôme pier in Mahébourg. The trip sometimes includes a visit to the island closest to the coast, the Aigrettes, a nature reserve managed by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, a Mauritian NGO in charge of the preservation of the country's endangered plants and animals. The MWF also proposes a visit of the eastern islets but in its own way, i.e. focused on the different species of plants and animals/insects that can be observed there, on the historical richness of the islets and on the seabed offered by the Trou Moutou site.
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