We are testing MauHeritage, a mobile application launched by the he National Heritage Fund which allows its users to access Mauritian historical sites.
Promoting the heritage of Mauritius
With the support of the Department of Arts and Cultural Heritage, the National Heritage Fund has developed MauHeritage. The initiative aims to provide Mauritians and international users with an information platform that brings together the history of the island, photos, videos and virtual tours of all the national heritage sites of Mauritius, with their location as a bonus. At the launch of the application, at the Labourdonnais Hotel, Port-Louis, it was emphasized that the application will serve as an important tool for tourists to connect them to historical sites across the country, and help them better plan their visits, and of course promote the local heritage.
One year of development
The NHF worked on MauHeritage for no less than a year. « The application contains the history and images of the 197 sites classified as national heritage. Information on the Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne, two sites inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. Practical details for each site are also available. The user can also discover certain sites by viewing 360° images and drone images “explained Shivajee Dowlutrao during the launch of the application. MauHeritage allows Mauritians to discover or rediscover these historical sites and monuments in a few clicks.
MauHeritage, a successful bet
MauHeritage was launched last Monday on the occasion of the International Day of Monuments and Sites 2022. The application allows its users to access almost all the national and world heritage sites of Mauritius, and we tested it for you.
The application is very easy to use. When we open it, we are directly greeted by a pop-up that explains its use point by point. Afterwards, you can choose to use the search bar in the menu to look for a specific location, or to browse through the different categories available.
When you click on a particular historical place, you have access to its photos, as well as its history. I honestly expected only a few lines per monument, no more. Also, I was pleasantly surprised at how complete and detailed the history of certain sites was.
In addition, some pages are enhanced with an aerial video of the site, or even a 360 degree panoramic view of the site. Another interesting aspect of the app: on each page linked to a historical site, you can find its geolocation, its opening to the public, as well as the visit fees (if any).
In any case, by testing the features of MauHeritage, I was able to discover a good dozen places I didn’t know existed. Moreover, thanks to the application, I was able to know the history of some places that I was walking through in everyday life. So the bet is successful for the National Heritage Fund. At the beginning, I was expecting a simple database of historical places in Mauritius. But in the end, I ended up with a very complete application, illustrated, and with very interesting features. MauHeritage is therefore an application that could be very useful, whether for a tourist in search of adventure, or for a Mauritian eager to discover his island.
Note that the application is currently only available for download on the Play Store.
