About Rodrigues Island

The island is entirely surrounded by reefs, which offer some of the best beach underwater experiences available in the Indian Ocean. A vast lagoon (200sqkm) shelters some of the best beach and reef areas. Among its many coral caves is the often- visited, 795m-long Caverne Patate, near Plaine Corail.

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The population of 37,000 Creoles are of African, Malagasy and French stock. They alternate between gathering crops of the sea and those of the land. It's profile is fairly mountainous, consisting of steep hills and narrow valleys. The two highest points are Mount Limon, a mere 393m, and Mount Malarctic, at 326m. Its climate is relatively warm and always pleasant, being somewhat drier than that of Mauritius.

Compared to Mauritius, Rodrigues is more vulnerable during the November to May cyclone season. The wettest months are February and March and temperatures vary from an average of 15ºC in winter to around 34ºC in summer.

The only port open all year is Port Mathurin — the capital situated in the north. Basketwork is the mainstay of the local handicraft. Hats, mats and baskets are woven from the local raw materials: aloe, raffia, bamboo and vétiver.

Of the 38 or so remaining species of plants native to Rodrigues, all but two are considered endangered, vulnerable, or rare. Species of which continued existence depend on one or two specimens in the wild include cafe marron, bois pipe, mandrinette pasner.
The Mauritian government is acting to protect vegetation plots of critical importance, such as Grande Montagne. Pigeon, Cascades, Mourouk, St Louis and Anse Quitor. These plots are fenced off from animal depredation and carefully weeded to remove the much faster growing introduced species. Rare species are propagated in govemment nurseries on Rodrigues and then planted in these plots where they have a better chance of survival and regeneration.

Rodrigues is well known for its pickles and sea food and many Mauritians returning from the island, or Rodriguans going to Mauritius to visit relatives, make it a must to take along with them fresh fish, shrimp, octopus and so on. Although it is forbidden to carry these products on board the aircraft, the passengers manage to slip these delicacies in their luggage, undetected by the airport luggage-scanning devices.

Rodrigues Island

Rodrigues, 18 kms long by 8 kms wide, is set in the monochrome blue of a typical postcard scene representing some 200 square kilometres of lagoon. Rodrigues is remote, a part of Mauritius but 550km

Flora and Fauna

Since the island's colonization in the 17th century, its thick forest cover has been destroyed by felling and intensive grazing. The secondary growth with which this has been replaced consists mostly

Weather and Best Season to Visit

You can visit Rodrigues Island almost any time of the year the climate here is pleasantly warm and somewhat drier than that of Mauritius. The island is prone to periodic cyclones, sometimes quite

Attractions Beaches

Pointe Coton, on the east coast, has the best beach on the island. There are other nice beaches at St François, Trou d'Argent and Petit Gravier. Rodrigues is a volcanic island rising from a ridge

Flora Endangered flora

There are 42 plants endemic to Rodrigues and, of these, seven are down to two or three specimens each. These include the Rodrigues hibiscus, saved from extinction after specimens were located in

mauritius-islander.com (General Info site)

Mauritius is situated in the south-west of the Indian Ocean about 800 km east of Madagascar. Together with Réunion and Rodrigues it belongs to the Mascarene Islands. It has an area of 1.865 km ² and

Getting There and Away By air

Rodrigues is linked by air only with Mauritius; it has no international air services of its own. Two Air Mauritius flights with 48 seater planes are scheduled daily. The main aircraft serving the