'You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.'  Mark Twain, 'Following the equator' 1897
 

Mauritius Long known as a preferred holiday/vacation destination for royalty and the glitterati. Mauritius is an island country situated in the Indian Ocean, about 2,400 kilometres off the South East Coast of Africa (500 miles east of Madagascar) and 3,943 kilometres southwest of India. Mauritius forms part of the Mascarene Archipelago, all that remains of an ancient land mass that Asia and Africa was once a part of. The island, which is of volcanic origin, covers an area of 1,865 square kilometres or 720 square miles. Mauritius has a central plateau. The highest peak is at Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire that stands at 828 metres high. The island country has a large collection of smaller islands in the Indian Ocean such as the Agalega Islands ‘L'ile aux Cerfs’, 'Benitier Island', ‘Coin de Mire', Flat Island and some others.

Mauritius is a democratic state based on the Westminster model. the Island was once known as Île de France when it was under French rule.

Mauritius is famous for its ‘Post Office’ stamps of 1847 particularly its twopence blue stamp, the ‘Blue Mauritius’