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The island of Mauritius occupies a choice section of the Indian
Ocean. It is situated on the 20th parallel, just north of
the tropic of Capricorn, and is on the 57/35th longitude,
east of Greenwich.
The island of Mauritius occupies a choice section of the Indian
Ocean. It is situated on the 20th parallel, just north of
the tropic of Capricorn, and is on the 57/35th longitude,
east of Greenwich.
Mauritius is approximately 355 kms off the east
coast of Madagascar, Africa being the nearest continent, with
Mombassa some 1800 kms away. It is about 11 hours flight from
the main European countries and 7 hours from Singapore.
It is a volcanic island, 10 million years old,
only 1865 square kilometres in area. The central plateau reaches
600 meters in altitude with the highest peak, le Piton de
la Rivière Noire, and hitting 828 meters.
The coastline of 1600 kms is almost entirely
surrounded by one of the largest unbroken coral reefs in the
world. In the summer months of November to April, the temperature
varies from 20 to 35ºC. The hours of daylight are approximately
from 05.00 to 19.00 in summer and 06.00 to 18.00 in winter.
The cyclonic season is between November and
March. Port Louis is the economic and administrative capital
city. It is also a modern, well-equipped and efficiently operated
port.
A Free Port has recently been created and is
operating.
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