Mauritius - Our Paradise Island
Mauritius is a small island located off the south east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It has a population of 1.28 million people and an area of 2040 sq. km. The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis where the main offices, the parliament and the port are located. The island was successive Dutch, French and British colonies. It gained its independence in 1968 and became a republic in 1992.
Mauritius is a multi-cultural country. Its population is comprised of Indo-Mauritians, Sino-Mauritians and Franco-Mauritians. The languages spoken in Mauritius are French, Mauritian Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin Chinese but the official language is English. Since Mauritius has a rich diverse culture, festivals like Divali, Chinese Spring Festival, Eid-Ul-Fitr and Cavadee are celebrated by one and all. Mauritius is a tropical island with only two seasons: summer and winter. The temperature is around 26 degrees on the coast and 22 degrees on the central plateau during summer. During winter which lasts from May to October, the temperature is about 22 degrees on the coast and 18 degrees on the plateau. Le Morne and Aapravasi Ghat have been inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2008 and 2006 respectively. Le Morne is a symbol of the slaves' fight for freedom, their suffering and their sacrifice whereas Aapravasi Ghat commemorates the arrival of indentured labourers on the island. Mauritius is one of the world's best tourist destinations. Two trophies were awarded to Mauritius at the World Travel Awards 2011: the Indian Ocean's Leading Destination Island and the Indian Ocean's Leading Destination Beach which was awarded to the beach of Trou-aux-Biches. |