Slightly in the north from the tropic of Capricorn lies Mauritius as a green emerald, surrounded by turquoise ocean, which have washed and turned coastline into wonderful white coral beach protected by a barrier reef. You will discover coastal scenery that changes around each bend of the road. The mountain ranges give birth to streams and rivers some being part of nature reserve with ancient forests inhabited by deer, monkeys, and wild boar - not to mention several rare bird species such as the Mauritian Kestrel .

Mauritius is more than nature - it holds a long history bringing cultures together with numerous places of interest. The Pamplemousses Garden , famous for its giant water lilies and its countless varieties of palm trees. Port Louis the Capital City , a mixture of the new and the old times, is an invitation tostop by the old oriental market or at one of the jewellery shop at the new waterfront. Other places like the Eureka House, The Martello Towers , Grand Bassin, Souillac and Chamarel are some more couple interesting places to visit on vacation to Mauritius.

Since the Island is a multi ethnic society with several religious belief, the various celebrations form part of many events through out the year. These events add to an already interesting and colourful island. This smiling and hospitable population is the foundation of services that most likely cannot be found out elsewhere. This, together with the warm climate makes Mauritius a tropical paradise for all, who dreams about white sand beaches, palm trees, beautiful and lush nature with mountain, rivers that provide a playing ground for adventurous people.

Mauritius is surrounded by precious filigree of coral , created over thousands of years, home for marine life such as small cleaner shrimp, distinctive orange scorpion fish and a variety of small and middle size tropical fish. Since the reefs protect the lagoons, this makes it safe for swimming and snorkelling - Not forgetting a perfect place to meet Dolphins . Laying in the Indian Ocean, the South Euquatorial current passes by bigger fish living in the surrounding seas; shark, Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna, and even whale shark can be encountered there. Enchantment touches to everyone who ventures offshore and into the reef's iridescent lagoons!

Culture

The rainbow population of Mauritius, composed afirst group of Hindu & Muslims, descends from Indian labourers were brought to the island by the British Colony to work into the sugar cane fields . Chinese, also taken as labourers, came most of them as entrepreneurs. Today, many still control the lion's share of village based commerce The remaining population also known as the General Population, are both descendants of African slaves, and Franco-Mauritian, the original settlers of the island .

One of many highlights found in Mauritius, is the magnificent mixture of cuisines offered. The most common varieties of cuisine are Creole, European, Chinese and Indian , with seafood almost always as specialty . One speciality includes La Rougaille- a dish made of tomatoes, onions, garlic and any kind of meat or fish- and daube, mainly an octopus stew. Favourite local beverages include lassi- a refreshing yoghurt and ice-water drink- or else the alouda -a syrupy brew of algar, milk and flavourings-available everywhere from street side vendors.

Events

With its host of cultures and multinational residents, it's no surprise that Mauritius celebrates an equally diverse number of holidays and special events.

Celebrations in Mauritius start, with the Hindu’s major glorification Thaipoosam Cavadee in January or February in the different temples of the island. Around the same period, Tamil residents mark the end of the harvest by feeding rice pudding to decorated cows in the festivals of Pongal and begins with their long fire walking ceremony carried during the whole year. As for Sina- Mauritians, the Chinese New Year is celebrated with the standard barrage of fireworks and traditional wax cakes.

Maha Shivaratri the largest and most important festival for the Hindu community of Mauritius,is celebrated in February or March . During the three days celebration,most of the island's Hindu population goes to the holy volcanic lake of Grand Bassin for a pilgrimage, where they make food sacrifices and stockpile vessels of the holy water.

On the 12th March, Mauritius celebrates its Independence.

Ougadi or the Telugu New Year is celebrated in the month of March. The birthday of Ganesha, the God of wisdom and remover of all obstacles are celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi.

Unlike many religious celebrations, Ougadi is not celebrated on the streets, but is rather very traditional, with people having lunch or dinner with their relatives and going to the cultural shows organised for the occasion.

Holi (Hindi) or Phagwah (Bhojpuri) is a popular celebration in Mauritius. Also referred as the Festival of Colours, the Hindu spring festival is as well observed both countries India (North) and Nepal.  This two days celebration first start with bonfires lit at night to signify burning and continues the next day with people throwing colour powders and water to them

Similarly to the Teemeedee celebrations, is the Hindu and Tamil sword-climbing spectacles which take place mostly between April and June.

Père Laval Feast Day in September marks the anniversary of the Catholic convert-king's death, and pilgrims come from all over the world his shrine at Ste-Croix to pray for miracle cures.

Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the lunar year.

Diwali, or Deepawali, (also called Tihar or Swanti in Nepal ) is a major Indian and Nepalese holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism as well for other faiths in India - Jainism and Sikhism. [Citation needed]
Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated all across the globe as the "Festival of Light"- where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being.  Diwali is often celebrated at the end of October.

Arab traders knew about Mauritius in the early 10th century but never stopped to settle the island. Portuguese naval explorers stumbled upon it in the wake of Vasco de Gama's passage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498. The island was more or less left untouched until the Dutch visit in1598. But it was another 40 years before the Dutch began to settle the country, preferring instead to use it as a supply base on the route to Java. The colony, however, never really flourished, and the Dutch departed for good in 1710, leaving in their wake the extinction of the dodo and the introduction of African slaves, Java deer, wild boar, tobacco and sugar cane.

Five years later, French captain Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsal claimed the island, renamed it 'Ile de France' and gave it over to the French East India Company to run as a trading base. Some years later, in 1810 , after the initial defeat of the French at the Battle of Vieux Grand Port , the British moved to the island the landed at Cap Malheureux (Cap bad luck) on the northern coast and took the island).

Mauritius was granted independence from Britain on the 12 March 1968 , and Sir Ramgoolam was elected prime minister.