Cap Malheureux

Cap Malheureux is the northernmost point of Mauritius, a fishing village whose small church of Notre Dame Auxiliatrice, with its steep red corrugated roof and white walls, is one of the most photographed buildings on the island because of what stands behind it: the sea and the wedge of Coin de Mire a few kilometres offshore. The church dates from 1938 and is still in parish use, with a holy water font made from a giant clam shell. The name, the cape of misfortune, is usually linked to shipwrecks on the reef here, and it was at this point that British forces landed in 1810 to take the island. Fishing boats work from the beach and the shore is rocky rather than sandy.

What you actually see

• The red-roofed church - Notre Dame Auxiliatrice above the shore.
• Coin de Mire - the islet on the horizon behind the church.
• The fishing beach - boats pulled up on the rocky shore.
• The northern islets - Flat Island and Round Island beyond on clear days.

When to go

May to December for clearer air and calmer sea. Morning light puts the sun behind the viewer for the classic church and islet photograph. Sunday services fill the church.

Honest expectations

The site is essentially one building and a view, covered in half an hour. Tour groups arrive in waves. The shore is rocky and not a swimming beach. The church interior is modest and in active parish use.

Nearby

Grand Baie lies south; Grand Gaube is east along the coast.