Mascareignes Archipel

Volcanic Islands of Beauty

The Mascareignes Archipel is made up of Mauritius, Reunion island and Rodrigues. It obtained its name after the dutch navigator Pero Mascarenhas who was one of the first Europeans to indicate its existence at the beginning of the 16th century.

Mauritius, is situated 890 KM east of Madagascar, between 19°50' and 20°32' of South Latitude and  57°18' and 57°46'  of East Longitude. Reunion is 200 km south west of Mauritius and Rodrigues, a dependence of Mauritius is 600 km to the East North East.

Of volcanic origin, these islands are separated by sea pits 4000 metres deep. They emerged from the ocean depths as a result of gigantic underwater volcanic eruptions that occurred thousands of kilometres to the east of the continental block, made up by Africa and Madagascar.