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Mauritius Island Hotels |
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Mauritius Island Hotels |
Mauritius
Mauritius is the easily accessible island in the Indian Ocean and a tropical paradise. People going to Mauritius will always be delighted with the lively and warm people, relaxed atmosphere and music of everyday life. All these are likely to leave an everlasting impression on the visitors along with the lovely beaches, luxurious hotels and crystal-clear water. Hardly a week passes without celebrations in Mauritius. Mauritius enjoys a typically tropical climate with year round warmth. The best months to visit Mauritius are May to early December. January and February are the months to be avoided for the water sports and divers. This month is of peak cyclones that are rare occurrences. The main cultural event is the festival called Kreol, which is celebrated for three days at the end of the October. Apart from the Christmas and New Year peak, Mauritius doesn’t have high and low seasons.
With its host of cultures and multinational residents, it’s no surprise that Mauritius celebrates number of holidays and special events. Teemeede, a Hindu and Tamil fire-walking ceremony held in honor of various gods, takes place throughout the year but mostly in December and January. Hindus celebrate the major Thaipoosam Cavadee in January or February at temples throughout the island. Processions carrying flower- covered wooden arches and pots of milk, with devotees skewering their tongue and cheeks in homage to the second son of Lord Shiva. The same time, Tamils mark the end of the harvest season by feeding rice pudding to decorated cows in the festival of Pongal, and Chinese New Year is celebrated fireworks and foodstuffs.
Maha Shivaratri occurs over three days in February and March. This is the largest and most important Hindu Festival outside India. Holi is the festival of colors and it is celebrated with enthusiasm. Sometimes it comes in February or March. Independence Day or Republic day is held on 12th March. Teemeedee celebrations, Hindu and Tamil sword-climbing spectacles take place mostly between April and June. Pere Laval Feast Day comes in September and is celebrated as an anniversary of the Catholic convert- king’s death, and pilgrims come from all over the world to his shrine at Ste-Croix to pray for miracle cures. Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr and they keep fast for a month of Ramadan; it comes in the ninth month of the lunar year. On this festival there is a public holiday.
Black River Gorges National Park is one of the places in Mauritius which can be enjoyed by the tourists. This park is not always frequented by the tourists, so while going there get details from the information centers. Dodo trees (Tambalacoque), the black ebony tree, and wild guavas are the rare and exotic trees found here. The bird- watchers will definitely get to see the Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet and cuckoo-shrike. The national park has thick forests covering nearly 3.5% of the island. The population of the Kestrels had been reduced and this has made it the rarest bird in the world. Pink pigeon was once found in this island. It has been restricted to the forest in the south-west corner of Mauritius.
