5 Facts of Mauritius

The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis

Mauritius is a beautiful island nation in the Indian Ocean. It has wonderful weather, great beaches and a host of interesting things to see and do. Mauritius is the perfect holiday destination. It is a place where you can enjoy yourself immensely for a lot less than you might imagine and make memories that will last a lifetime. There is many interesting fact about Mauritius the average person does not know. They include:

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

Mauritius is located some 900 kilometers off to the southeast of the African continent. The Republic of Mauritius is actually a group of islands which includes Caragados Carajos, Rodrigues, the Agalega Islands and Reunion. Mauritius is part of a larger string of islands located in the southwest Indian Ocean known as the Mascarene Islands. The capital of the Republic of Mauritius, Port Louis, is on the island of Mauritius.

2

While English is the official language of the Republic of Mauritius, there are numerous other languages spoken there. Many people there also speak Mauritian Creole and French. There are segments of the population which speak several African and Indian dialects, Rodiguan Creole and Chinese. However the popular newspapers and television programs are in French.

3

Dina Arobi was the name the Arab sailors who discovered the uninhabited island in the Middle Ages gave to the country. Portuguese sailors became aware of the island in about 1507 and Diogo Fernamdes Pereira, a Portuguese navigator, visited it in 1511. The Dutch took control of the island beginning in 1598 and called it Mauritius. The island then came under the control of French and later the British. The Republic of Mauritius became an independent nation on March 12th 1968.

4

Mauritius is the only place in the world where the Dodo, a flightless bird, was found. The bird was easy to capture and kill because of its inability to fly. The Dodo was hunted to extinction within eighty years after the first Europeans visited the island.

5

Culturally Mauritius is considered an African nation. Politically it is a Democracy. Mauritius' air quality is the 2nd best in the world.