Mauritius

Located in the centre of Mauritius is Port Louis, It is the capital and also the Largest city in Mauritius. The best time for a visit to Mauritius is from May to December when the weather is cool, dry and sunny.

The climate in Mauritius is tropical, and it is usually warm and sunny all year-round. Mauritius experiences two seasons: Summer which lasts from November to April, and Winter which lasts from May to October.

The culture in Mauritius is based on the diversity of the population and is expressed through literature, dance, music, local crafts, religion, and tradition and also in their cuisine.

The people of Mauritius are mostly descendants of settlers from around the world, settlers like French (Franco-Mauritians), African slaves (Afro-Mauritians), Chinese traders (Sino-Mauritians), Indian laborers (Indo-Mauritians), and Creole settlers.

English is the official language spoken in Mauritius, but also French, Mauritian Creole, French-based Creole, and ethnic languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil or Mandarin are common in Mauritius.

There are two airports in Mauritius, and everything in Mauritius is within a two hour drive. Taxis are stationed at every hotel and car or scooter hire is cheap. Minibus excursions pick up from hotels, and most resorts have bicycles, and bicycle tours. Motorised pirogues, glass-bottom boats, catamarans and speedboats get visitors on the water. There are also helicopter rides providing an aerial tour of the island. Mauritius is a relatively safe place to visit, common crimes committed are mainly petty crimes like pickpocketing and vandalism.

There are plenty of religious festivals that are widely celebrated in Mauritius, but there are also some really spectacular cultural festivals that a tourist can not afford to miss, like the Thaipoosam Cavadee - held on the 21st of January, known to be one of the most vibrant festivals in Mauritius, Cavadee is dedicated to Lord Murugam who is a popular god of the Tamil people who make up a significant percent of the people of Mauritius; Holi - Held on th 20th of March , this is the festival of colours that hails from India to mark the legend of Holika, bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi festival in Mauritius and the day itself is marked with colors and color guns and the traditional colors played with friends across large grounds, set against music and drinks; Chinese Spring Festival - held on the 5th of February, the Chinese New Year celebrations are celebrated with a remarkable fervour in the Sino Mauritian community of Port Louis, Fireworks are also an essential part of the festival; Eid ul Fitr - held on the 4th of June, the large Muslim community celebrates the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramzan when Muslims fast and engage in ritualistic prayers; Christmas - held on the 25th of December. The small but significant Catholic community holds an evocative Christmas celebration every year to mark the coming of Jesus Christ. The most popular place to stay in Mauritius is Port Louis, its capital city.

There are many attractions and places to see when in Mauritius, and some of these include:

• Le Morne - Here the Le Morne Mountain is located. The place is full of nice viewpoints over the west coast of the island and over the southern part of the Island, it was formerly a place where slaves could escape from their masters. It is mostly uninhabited and surrounded by hotels.

• Chamarel - This is a small village located in the district of Savanne. Chamarel. It is home to the highest waterfall in Mauritius at 100 metres and the 7-coloured earths.

• Pamplemousses Botanical Garden - known for its giant lily ponds with tadpoles and frogs, fruit bat trees with bats hanging from the branches, lakes with giant turtles and fishes without forgetting the trees planted by famous figures including Nelson Mandela and Indira Ghandi. It is also known as Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden.

• Ile Aux Cerfs - This is one of the major attractions on the Island of Mauritius, located off its East Coast. It is known for its spectacular white sandy beaches, palm trees and waters of all shades of blue. It also houses the Bernard Langer golf course.

• Port Louis - Located in the capital city of Mauritius, it is known to be the oldest horse race track in the southern hemisphere, and also the second oldest in the world.

There are over 500 hotels and accommodations available in Mauritius. One amazing fact about Mauritius is that there are no wild animals on the island, and even the species of snakes found here are not poisonous in nature.