POLOKWANE – Well known for its beaches, lagoons and reefs, the mountainous interior of Mauritius includes the Black River Gorges National Park, rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails and wildlife.
The Mauritian Constitution makes no mention of an official language and its one million citizens speak English, French, Mauritian Creole, French-based Creole, and ethnic languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil or Mandarin.
The island is widely known as the only known home of the dodo, which, along with several other avian species, was made extinct by human activities relatively shortly after the island’s settlement.
Mauritius is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the largest religion.
Facts about Mauritius:
- The currency of Mauritius is called Mauritian rupee
- The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Chinese, European and Indian influences. Dishes from French cuisine have grown very popular in Mauritius. French dishes like the bouillon, tuna salad the daube, civet de lièvre or coq au vin served with good wine show the prevalence of French culture in Mauritius even today.
- Ethnic groups in Mauritius include the Indo-Mauritians (people of Indian descent) who make up 68% of the population. Creoles (of African descent or mixed-race) are about a quarter of the population. There are approximately 30,000 Sino-Mauritians from the Hakka and other Chinese sub-ethnic/linguistic groups that are in Mauritius.
- Football is a popular sport in Mauritius. The national football team is called the Club M and represents the country in international matches. They became a member of FIFA in 1962 and Confederation of African Football in 1963.
- The capital city of Mauritius is called Port Louis and is one of the top holiday destination in Africa with great places to visit such as Grand Baie, Chamarel Coloured Earth in Mauritius, Casela Nature Park, Downtown Port Louis and many more.
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