Mauritius

Geography
Mauritius is an island with surface area of 720 square miles, situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, in the south of Indian Ocean. Being of a volcanic origin, Mauritius has a central plateau, which is about 400 meters above sea level. Mountains scattered throughout the island, tropical forests and plants are other feathers that add to the natural beauty of the island. With more than 90 miles of white sandy beaches and the transparent lagoon are protected from the open sea by the world's third largest coral reef, which almost surrounds the island.

While many countries claim they are cosmopolitan, only a few really qualify. Mauritius is one of the rare authentically cosmopolitan societies. Where else could so many towns and villages boast of a Catholic church, a Muslim mosque, and a Hindu temple within walking distance from each other? And if you are lucky, you might even find a Chinese pagoda in the vicinity! One little-known cemetery at Bambous hosts a burial ground with a Muslim and a Jewish section!

Mauritius is a densely populated island of around 1.2 million people. It is a plural society where all the ethnic groups present: Hindus, Muslims, Creoles, Chinese and Europeans live in peace and where all the ancestral cultures have been preserved. These features make the island a unique place in the world. Most Mauritians are bilingual being equally fluent in French and English. English is the official language, but French and Creole are widely spoken. Oriental languages also form part of the linguistic mosaic.

Major Cities
Port Louis naturally grew to be the economic and administrative capital of Mauritius after it superseded Mahebourg in the early eighteenth century because of the superior quality of its harbor. Until the 1860s, when the Suez Canal was built, Port Louis was the recommended stopover for ships from Europe on their way to India. It was largely because of the safety and activity of Port Louis, that Mauritius then earned the title of 'Star and Key of the Indian Ocean.' The City of Port-Louis underwent a second birth in the 1980s when post-independence economic stagnation finally gave way to bursting activity. The skyline of Port Louis has changed dramatically since, and high-rising towers now compete with buildings from the colonial times. Port Louis is unrecognizably quiet after business hours and on weekends, except when the Champs-de-Mars hosts the very popular horse races.

Curepipe stands at the lower tip of the urban zone, which stretches diagonally across the island from Port Louis, through Beau-Bassin, Rose-Hill, Quatre-Bornes, Vacoas and Phoenix. Curepipe became a popular residential town in the previous century reputedly after inhabitants fled the malaria epidemics on the west coast for the healthier, if wetter, highlands. The strangeness of the name 'Curepipe' has given rise to fanciful etymologies, the most persistent of which is that travelers used to stop there to 'cure' their pipes! Curepipe today is an elegant residential town with prize colonial houses, pleasant public gardens and an ultra-modern vegetable market! A short drive around Curepipe brings you to Trou-aux-Cerfs, one of the most exciting points of view of the island, and to the luscious tea plantations.

Mahebourg is named after one of the foremost figures in the history of the Island, the French governor Mahe de Labourdonnais. A visit to the Naval Museum in Mahebourg reveals the richness of the historical past of the village. This site was the port where the Dutch settlers disembarked, the first capital harbor of the island, and the theatre of the sole victory of the Napoleonic fleet over the British - an event commemorated by engravings in the Arc-de-Triomphe in Paris.

Grand Baie owes its popularity to the enchanting quality of its emerald waters and to its liveliness by day or by night. It offers facilities for safe swimming, sailing, windsurfing, and water skiing. Grand Baie also hosts a variety of fashion and craft shops, hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs. It is the departure point for helicopter excursions, and it provides facilities for deep-sea angling and for boat excursions to the islands to the north of Mauritius: Gunners' Quoin, Flat Island, Round Island, and Serpent Island.

Mauritian Cuisine
As an indication of the sureness of taste of Mauritians, consider that despite having been under British rule for 150 years, the people have remained quite impermeable to British cuisine! They had the good sense of looking up to Chinese, French and Indian cuisines for inspiration instead! There is also a distinct Indian-Ocean cuisine, in which the tomato-based "rougaille" features prominently. Mauritian cuisine is a medley of these cuisines adapted for local availability of vegetables and meats. The bryani Mauritian-style can be quite remote from the Pakistani original. Unlike Indian curries, the Mauritian curry uses fresh tomatoes. And if French "fricasses" are popular, they can be of ... bats! As for the "naked noodles" (mines touni), they can come as a surprise to Chinese chefs! If seafood is a favorite of yours, then don't forget to treat yourself to the "Millionaire's salad" of oysters, shrimps, crayfish, crabs, Rosenbergi prawns, served with "sauce rouge" and the heart of a palm tree! Looking for exoticism, weren't you!

The Sega
The Sega is a dance which originated from the ritual music of Madagascar and the mainland of Africa, and it is the Musical Expression of the Mauritian Way of Life: Joy, Carefree and Lively. Originally sung by men and women who had been sold as slaves but whose souls had remained sensitive to music, the Sega is nowadays a folksong that has integrated itself within the framework of our folklore. It is a cry from the soul trying to transcend the miseries and heartaches of life, while at the same time expressing the universal human desire for joy and happiness. It tells the joys and sorrows of the peasants and the fishing folks. It is a nostalgic heritage of the villagers. Its beats, gripping in intensity, now provide entertainment to Mauritians of all walks of life in towns and villages. Today the Sega and its beat are a part of every Mauritian's life.

The dance itself is the rhythmic swaying of the hips to the pulsating rhythm of the Ravane. It starts with a gentle swaying, to a slow and solemn tune, which gradually rises, consuming the dancers and setting their bodies jerking, stretching and swaying with animated movements to keep pace with the ever-increasing tempo. The beat creeps inside you and as your body responds to the rhythm, you are carried to heights of ecstasy, generating a vibrating force that shakes the "lead" off your feet and inspires you to a high-spirited and unrestrained way of dancing. Tiring perhaps, but exhilarating! Never mind if your movement does not follow the rhythm ... just carry on dancing and you will be amazed how rhythm and movement synchronize afterwards.

Pamplemousses Botanical Garden/Jardin Botanique de Pamplemousses
The jewel of the crown! The gardens are known to naturalists throughout the world for their countless species of indigenous and exotic plants, including the giant Victorial Regia water lilies, and the talipot palm, said to flower once every sixty years and then die. Coloured Earths of Chamarel/Terres de Couleurs de Chamarel -- Among the oddest sites of the island are the seven-colored dunes at Chamarel, believed to result from the weathering of volcanic rocks. These undulating and vividly contrasted layers of earth are a short drive away from the beautiful Chamarel waterfalls.

The Bird Garden of Casela/Jardin d'Oiseaux de Casela
Set in a magnificent site between Bambous and Tamarin in the Riviere Noire district, the Casela Bird Park hosts some 140 varieties of birds from around the world. The main attraction remains the Mauritian Pink Pigeon, one of the rarer birds in the world, still fighting to avoid the fate of the dodo.

Île aux Cerfs
There are no stags (cerfs) remaining on this small island, which now belongs to Le Touessrok Sun Hotel and attracts large numbers of holidaymakers on the east coast. What you get when you step off the ferry is a sheltered crowded beach and lagoon for water sports or sunbathing, restaurants and several souvenir stalls.

Domaine Les Pailles
Ten minutes south of Port Louis lays this nature park, stretching over 3,000 acres at the foot of the Moka mountain range. You can choose between touring the park in a Land Rover, riding in a horse-drawn carriage or in a train.

Aquarium
Situated between Pointe-aux-Piments and Trou-aux-Biches, hosts some 200 species of indigenous fish, invertebrates, corals and sponges, providing the visitor with a unique opportunity of admiring the fauna and flora of the Indian Ocean.

Domaine du Chasseur (Anse Jonchee, Vieux Grand Port)
Situated in the southeast of the island, near Mahebourg, in the heart of abundant greenery, it is an exciting natural hunting ground with its herds of some 1,000 deer and hundreds of wild boar. Lovers of leafy walks can choose to admire rare kinds of trees and protected species, such as the famous wind hover kestrel.

Le Val Nature Park
Situated in the southeast of the island at Cluny, Le Val offers a view of the natural aquatic life of shrimps, eels and freshwater fish. The park also hosts greenhouses, watercress ponds, deer parks, as well as monkeys and various bird species.

Tamarind Falls
These falls are awkward to reach, but it's worth the effort for a beautiful, deep, cool bathe at the bottom of the series of seven falls. A few miles north of Tamarin, a tarred, bumpy road through cane fields leads to the Magenta and Tamarind Falls turn-off. Leave your car or bike and walk along the river up to the falls.

Trou aux Cerfs
Possibly the main attraction of Curepipe for tourists, apart from the shopping, is the Trou aux Cerfs crater. It's been extinct for a long time and the crater floor is now heavily wooded, but the crater affords lovely views around the island. A tarred road leads gently up to and around the rim.

Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

Area-comparative: almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline: 177 km

Climate: tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)

Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau

Natural resources: arable land, fish

Population: 1,182,212 (July 1999 est.)

Ethnic groups: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%

Religions: Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, and other 3.1%

Languages: English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Port Louis

National Holiday: Independence Day, 12 March (1968)

Constitution: 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992

Legal system: based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Flag description: four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green

Economy—overview: Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low income, agriculturally based economy to a middle income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial services, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been of the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on industrialization (with a view to modernization and to exports), agricultural diversification, and tourism. Economic performance in 1991-98 continued strong with solid growth and low unemployment.

Labor force—by occupation: construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1996 est.)

Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, non-electrical machinery; tourism

Agriculture—products: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

Exports—commodities: clothing and textiles 55%, sugar 24% (1995)

Imports—commodities: manufactured goods 37%, capital equipment 19%, foodstuffs 13%, petroleum products 8%, chemicals 7% (1995)

Currency: 1 Mauritian rupee (MauR) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees (MauRs) per US$1?4.099 (January 1999), 22.803 (1998), 20.561 (1997), 17.948 (1996), 17.386 (1995), 17.960 (1994)

Telephone system: small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth station? Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries

Railways:
total: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,860 km
paved: 1,732 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 128 km (1996 est.)

Airports: 5 (1998 est.)

Military branches: National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF, Special Support Units or SSU, and National Coast Guard)

Comesatradehub can assist your company to: Attract buyers, find suppliers & Agents. How we can help