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Mauritius |
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Geography
Mauritius is located in the South
West of the Indian Ocean,
approximately 230 km from Reunion
Island and 860 km from Madagascar.
It has a surface area of 1,872
square kilometers with a central
plateau rising at 600 meters above
sea level and 330 km of coastline.
It is the second largest island of
the Mascareignes Archipelago.
Mauritius offers natural, secured,
crystal clear lagoons and golden
sandy beaches.
History
Arab sailors reportedly visited the
island during the Middle Ages.
Portuguese navigator Pedro
Mascarenhas discovered the island in
1505,. In 1598 a Dutch squadron
landed at Grand Port and the first
attempt at Dutch settlement on the
island was made in 1638. In 1715 the
French landed in Mauritius and
renamed the island Isle de France.
In 1810, a powerful British
expedition conquered the island. The
British administration lasted 150
years was marked by rapid social and
economic change. Independence was
proclaimed on the 12th March 1968.
Population
The capital of Mauritius is
Port-Louis. The Mauritian population
forms a mosaic of different races,
cultures and religions. It is
composed of Hindus and Muslims,
Creoles, Chinese or Tamils.
Mauritians are generally bilingual,
being fluent in both French and
English. English is the official
language but Creole and French
remain the most commonly spoken
languages. Various oriental
languages are also spoken.
Climate
Situated in the warm waters of the
Indian Ocean, Mauritius has a
pleasantly tropical climate. The
Northern and Western regions are
known to be warmer and less rainy.
With a culminating point of 800
metres above sea level, the climate
on the Central Plateau is generally
cooler. Temperature varies between
25º and 31ºC in summer. Cyclones may
occur between November and May. In
Winter, temperature varies between
15º and 25ºC. Sea temperature varies
from +/- 27ºC in summer and +/- 22ºC
in winter.
The Economy
On the eve of independence in 1968,
Mauritius was essentially a
mono-crop economy based on sugar
production. In the early 1970s and
onwards, the island set out to
diversify its economy by encouraging
the establishment of export-oriented
companies and by setting up the
tourism industry. The 1990s saw
significant diversification into
more sophisticated industries and
the service sector. Today, Mauritius
is considered as an
upper-middle-income economy. The
country can boast one of the best
track records on economic growth,
political stability and human rights
in Africa. Preservation of the
environment is also a priority and
the island's natural beauty has been
maintained despite the high rate of
economic development and
industrialization.
Culture
Mauritius is a melting pot of
cultures. While Indians came
primarily as indentured labourers,
Chinese and Muslims were mainly
traders. Slaves were imported from
Africa to work in the sugar cane
fields whose owners were of European
descent. Today, the Mauritian
population has a rich cultural
heritage. Hindus, Christians,
Muslims, Chinese and Creoles
co-exist in peace and celebrate
several religious festivals
together. The Festival International
Kreol is organized in December by
the government of Mauritius. It is a
showcase for musicians, dancers,
singers, poets, designers and
speakers of the Creole culture.
Places of interest
Port Louis, the Capital of
Mauritius, was founded by the French
Governor, Mahé de Labourdonnais in
1735. Situated on the north-west
coast and protected by a curve of
mountains Port Louis is the home to
big businesses and financial
institutions. It is also renowned
for its markets, street hawkers,
colonial buildings, shops, churches
and mosques. The main cultural and
historical sites of interest of Port
Louis are Champ de Mars, Government
House, Theatre of Port-Louis,
Citadelle and the Aapravasi Ghat.
The North of Mauritius was
one of the first areas of the island
to welcome tourists. It offers a
great range of accommodation and
restaurants, water sports
facilities, shopping opportunities
and entertainment. The most renowned
place is Grand Bay. It is one of the
best areas for sailing, windsurfing
and water skiing. The bay is also
one of the favourite anchoring
places for sailboats and the meeting
point for day excursions on the
islets around the main land. Other
places of interest are Trou aux
Biches, Pereybere, Cap Malheureux,
Balaclava and the botanical garden
of Pamplemousses with its endemic
species.
The east coast harbors some
of the best beaches of Mauritius
from Blue Bay and its marine reserve
to the sandy beaches of Belle Mare
and Ile aux Cerfs which is one of
the most frequented islets of
Mauritius. The village of Mahebourg
is built on the bay of Grand Port,
and named after the French Governor
Mahé de Labourdonnais. The main
sites are the National History
Museum at Vieux Grand Port, where
there are the ruins of the first
Dutch fortifications.
The South and inland reveal a
different landscape from the rest of
the island: Gris-Gris and its cliffs
as well as the authentic villages of
Souillac and Riambel. The centre of
the island is home to Trou aux
Cerfs, an extinct volcano and
Curepipe, one of the main commercial
centres of the island. There is also
the site of Ganga Talao, a
spectacular religious site where
Hindus gather in February for the
Maha Shivratree festival.
The West & South West is
dedicated to nature and water
sports. Flic en Flac with its white
beaches fringed with filaos trees is
a popular place for weekend beach
activities. Grande Rivière Noire and
Tamarin were fishing villages that
have been transformed with luxury
villas. Le Morne, including its
World Heritage Site, offers
kilometres of beach for tanning and
swimming, at the foot of a most
stunning mountain backdrop. The
Peninsula boasts some of the best
surfing spots, attracting the most
talented kite and surfers from all
over the island. The National Park
of Black River is the biggest
natural reserve on the island.
Tourist products
There are 44 diving centres
in Mauritius. They operate on 30
diving sites around Mauritius like
Coin de Mire (North), Passe
Saint-Jacques (South), Passe du
Puits (East) and Cathedral (West).
On the North coast and the East
coast, there are specialized centers
for non-divers. They propose
undersea walks, sub scooter
excursions or submarine trips.
The spas are now regarded as
a must for all tourists. They are
sponsored by international leading
names such as Clarins, Givenchy,
Guerlain , La Prairie, and
Shisheido. The competitive nature of
the market has resulted in an
amazing range of pampering
treatments and state-of-the-art
health and beauty centres.
Mauritius has shopping
opportunities for all. Furthermore,
duty-free items now include
photographic and cinematographic
equipment and accessories, watches
and clocks, cellular phones and
other types of telephony elements,
paintings, engravings and antiques,
sunglasses and binoculars. There is
also no duty on leatherwear and
jewels.
Green tourism is rapidly
growing with huge domains opening up
to the visitors such as the Tea
Route, Moka, L’Etoile, Casela, La
Vanille. From Chamarel in the west
to Anse Jonchée in the east they
offer many activities ranging from
trekking to canyoning and horse
riding. One of the main attractions
is the Black River Gorges National
Park which extends over 6,754
hectares, with special attention
paid to the highly endangered native
plants and animals.
Mauritius was the third country
where golf was played after
the UK and India and most of the
golf courses in Mauritius are
spectacular with views of the sea in
the background. There are eight
18-hole golf courses and five 9-hole
golf courses around the island. Some
of these golf courses have been
designed by prestigious players such
as Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els and
Rodney Wright.
Deep sea fishing can be
practised between November and
April. The species found in
Mauritius are blue and black
marlins, sharks, tuna, bonito. A
number of deep sea fishing
competitions have become regular
events over the years. The most
prestigious one is the Marlin World
Cup, which is organized in December.
The main fishing centres are in
Rivière-Noire, Le Morne,
Flic-en-Flac, Trou-aux-Biches and
Grand-Baie.
The islets around Mauritius offer a
good potential for excursions on
catamarans. The excursions
include snorkeling, barbecue and
sega. Other sea excursions include
sub sccoter, under sea walk and
submarine.
Other activities range from
dolphin watching mainly on the
West coast, kite surfing at
Anse-la-Raie, Cap Malheureux, Poste
Lafayette, Belle-Mare, Pointe d’Esny
and Le Morne and even sky diving
over the north coast.
Integrated resort schemes (IRS)
are available for rich foreigners
who want to buy a property for not
less than 500 000 dollars, on
specific sites. They also offer
accomodation for tourists. The first
to open were Tamarina on the West
coast and Anahita on the East coast.
Others are opening soon. They are:
Valriche in Bel-Ombre, Sorep-Accor
in Bel-Ombre. Flic-en-Flac, La
Gaulette, Roches-Noires, Albion and
Black-River are other regions to
host IRS projects.
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