These photos were taken in Feb 2007 when my camera was still alive...

  The rest of the pics is on my Flickr Photostream.

The Facts Behind
The pilgrimage to Ganga Talao is a prelude to Maha Shivratree, the great night of Shiva. In 1897, Pandit Shri Gosagne dreamt that Pari Talao lake in Mauritius had a unique connection to the Ganges. The very first pilgrimage started the following year from Maheswarnath temple, Triolet. Pari Talao became Ganga Talao in 1972 when water from Ganges was offered here. The Shivling at Ganga Talao is also considered to be 13th Jyotirling of Shiva.

You can read the rest of the story on gangatalao.org
This year, around 300,000 people were expected turn up at Ganga Talao mostly by car, but also walking with their kanwars from all over the island.

Photos of Ganga Talao taken last Sunday. Sorry for the really low quality images. I used my 1MP phone camera, which can't even focus...
To avoid the traffic jams, I went to Ganga Talao last Sunday itself - it was crowded, but not that over-crowded.

There was a huge mist all over the place!

It's only when I don't have a camera that I get the most opportunities to take photos... :(

An Indian painter was restoring the worn off copper paint using the Fire Services huge hydraulic platform.

The Lolcat

I didn't see any monkeys, but I instead met this lolcat... :P

What I didn't like:
- Have you seen the toilets? I'm amazed that none of these thousands of pilgrims complained about the deplorable state of the toilets!
- If you offer fruits as offerings, take it back after you complete your prayers. It will be most probably dumped, so take it back & share it.

Coverage from other Mauritian Bloggers:
Priscus - Ganga Talao Part1, Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4
IslandCrisis - Maha Shivratree 2009 in Mauritius
Asheshr – Maha Shivratree 2009
Alomoris – Maha Shivratree
Yashvin – Kanwars, a potential danger?
Sozzz – Ganga Talao - The Pious Journey
& a photo gallery from L’Express.

I wish you all a pious Maha Shivratree! :)