Ganga Talao - Le Grand Bassin

There is no official religion in Mauritius - Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists all have their own places of worship, traditions, and public holidays. Almost 50% of the population is Hindu though, making Hinduism the most practised of the major religions.

Grand Bassin, or Ganga Talao, is the most sacred Hindu site in Mauritius. It's a crater lake around 1800 feet above sea level, in the highest and wettest part of the island. As well as being a place of pilgrimage, it's a major tourist attraction, but you have to choose your day carefully as the weather is pretty unpredictable. I've been on days where the sky was blue and cloudless, I've been on sunny days but where the clouds closed in and the rain came down within minutes, and I've been on a day when the weather was so bad that you couldn't even see the lake from the top of the steps.

Mum wondering if she dares to ring the bell

The road leading to Grand Bassin is possibly the best maintained road on the whole island, with a pavement as wide as the road itself to accommodate all the pilgrims. At the end of the road, the world's second largest statue of Shiva stands guard. The detail on the statue is incredible. It's an exact copy of one in India and measures 108 feet.

I've been reading about the origins of Ganga Talao and have found a couple of conflicting stories. Since I don't know which is right, I'm not going to tell you either of them. Despite being considered holy by Hindus for hundreds of years, the site was only actually declared sacred in 1998. Every year, towards the end of February, 400,000 Hindus from all over Mauritius walk to the lake to pray, make offerings, and collect water to take back to their local temple. It can take them a few days to walk the whole journey, and it often rains. They say that Shiva sends the rain so the pilgrims don't get too hot.

Once you make it past Shiva and down the steps, you can see temples all around the lake, with statues of different Hindu Gods. I eavesdropped on a tour guide's speech once, and learned that those with several arms didn't really have several arms. The extra ones are there to represent their supernatural powers.

Even when there's no festival, people often go to make offerings, and the edge of the lake is full of coconut shells, bananas, and miniature statues. The food attracts local wildlife including birds and monkeys, and some strange lake dwelling creatures.

My friend Anne took this photo

I've only ever visited Grand Bassin at quiet times, and would love to see all the colour and celebrations of Maha Shivaratri. I've heard that the pilgrims are very welcoming and happy to answer questions from curious onlookers about what's going on, but I think I'd still find it a bit strange to be caught up in the middle of it all. If we're still in Mauritius next February, perhaps I'll try and get there.