Geography & Climate

Mauritius is an island with surface area of 720 square miles, situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, in the south of Indian Ocean, with 57° 35 East longitute and 19° 68 and 20° 15 South latitude. Being of a volcanic origin, Mauritius has a central plateau which is about 400 metres above sea level. Mountains scattered throughout the island, tropical forests and plants are other feathers that add to the natural beauty of the island. With more than 90 miles of white sandy beaches and the transparent lagoon are protected from the open sea by the world's third largest coral reef which almost surrounds the island.


LANGUAGES -- English is the official language. 
             French is understood most over the island. 
             Creole is spoken throughout the island.
CURRENCY  -- The Mauritian unit of currency is the rupee (Rs), which is divided
             into 100 cents (c). There are coins of 5, 10, 20, 25, and 50 cents,
             and Rs 1 and 5. The bank note denominations are in 10, 50, 100,
             200, 500, 1000 and 2000 rupees.
             Currency Exchange: (as of Feb 2006)
             Australia A$1 = Rs 21.04
             Britain GBP1 = Rs 49.47
             France FF1 = Rs 5.15
             USA  US$1 = Rs 28.43
VOLTAGE   -- 220 volts.
DRIVING   -- On the left with priority to the right.
CUSTOMS:  -- Passengers of 16 years and over are allowed the following duty free:
          -- 1. 250 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco. 
          -- 2. 1 litre of spirits and 2 litres of wine, ale or beer.
          -- 3. A small quantity of perfume and about 25cl of eau de toilette.
             A permit must be obtained for plants, flowers, fresh fruits or pets.
TAX       -- Airport service charge: Rs 300 to be paid at the Airport by
             embarking passengers. Airport tax coupons can be bought along 
             with your air ticket prior to departures. 
CLIMATE   -- Tropical; warm, dry winter (June to September);hot, wet, 
             humid summer (October to May)
             Sea temperature     : Winter 22° C (71° F)

--- TROPICAL CLIMATE---

On the whole, our climate is fairly acceptable to everybody, the temperature ranges are:
Summer (November to April): 27° C (80° F) on the Coast to 23° C (73° F) on the Central Plateau.
Winter (May to October): 21° C (70° F) on the Coast to 17° C (63° F) on the Central Plateau.
Hours of Daylight approx. from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Summer and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Winter.
July is the Coolest Month 22° C (71° F). February is the Warmest Month 28° C (83° F).
Heavy Rainfalls likely between January and March.

The only snag is that the warm season can be disturbed by the passage of cyclones.
Tropical Cyclones: As much as we would like you to enjoy our comparatively "cool, dry and warm" climate, we would at the same time like to mention the existence of Tropical Cyclones in our vicinity. But there is no cause for alarm. We would not want you to feel "depressed" at these "tropical depressions". Weather sufficiently severe to cause a great deal to damage in the island has occurred on a total of only about a Dozen Days in Ninety Years. But being an Act of God (God bless us!) we cannot do anything about it."To name but a few: Carol 1960, Jenny 1962, and Gervaise 1975".

UNPREDICTABLE? The most violent cyclone (Carol) ever recorded in Mauritius occurred on the 28th February 1960. Wind from the south-east exceeded 140 m.p.h. in gusts just before the "central eye" of the storm gave three hours of perfectly calm sunny weather, which was immediately followed by winds of "almost equal strength from the North-West".

However, the chances of your meeting with really cyclonic weather during a trip to Mauritius are slim but, believe me, such an experience is one to be remembered! Tropical cyclones pass near enough to Mauritius to give on the average only about four days per year of the windy and rainy weather which is much more frequent in temperate latitudes.