Mauritius is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands.

The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole, French and English. English is the only official language but the lingua franca is Creole and the newspapers and television programmes are usually in French.

The island's capital and largest city is Port Louis, in the northwest. Other important towns are Rose-Hill and Beau-Bassin, Curepipe, Vacoas, Phoenix, Quatre Bornes.

The population estimate for the whole republic is 1,264,867. For the island of Mauritius only, as at 31 December 2007, it is 1,227,078. Most Creoles are Christian. Almost all the Muslims and the whole Hindu population are of Indian origin. Some Muslims are also from the Middle East. Hindus include Marathi, Tamil, Bhojpuri and Telugu speakers.

In Mauritius, the following festivals — Diwali, Mahashivratri, Christmas, Cavadee, Chinese New Year, Père Laval, and Eid Al-Fitr — are celebrated.

Recreational activities in Mauritius are quite varied to support the local tourism industry. Water sports are facilitated as the island is surrounded with coral reef, providing plenty of relatively shallow and calm water.

Land-based leisure activities include golf, tennis, skiing, sea diving, deer hunting, quad & mountain biking, abseiling, zip lining, horse riding and trekking. However, all these are most often practiced by the elite only.