The hand-crafted wooden model ship is one of Mauritius's most distinctive exports, and Curepipe is one of the main centres of the trade. Craftsmen build scale replicas of famous sailing vessels — the Bounty, HMS Victory, the Endeavour, 18th-century frigates and galleons — using camphor wood, with individually shaped hull planks, hand-turned masts, and rigging strung from real thread. A large, complex model can take months to build.
Several workshops in the Curepipe area allow visitors to watch craftsmen at work, which is genuinely worth doing regardless of whether you intend to buy. The finished ships are sold across Mauritius at prices that vary significantly depending on size and complexity. Buying direct from a workshop or from Curepipe shops is cheaper than buying at coastal resort boutiques. Ask to see work in progress rather than just the display cases — the process is as interesting as the product.