For information regarding ATOL holiday protection please visit: http://www.caa.co.uk/

For the latest up to date holiday advise visit http://www.fco.gov.uk/

For up to date information on flights from the UK visit http://www.baa.co.uk/

Once upon a time the island-group of Mauritius was part of a land bridge, the Mascarene Archipelago, connecting Asia and Africa. Its very ancient history is thus of great interest to scientist-archaeologists; more recently, it became inhabited in the 1500s when the Dutch arrived; resettled in 1715 when the French brought African slaves to work the sugar plantations covering the broad, fertile plain beyond the coast, and captured a century later by the British. They imported Indian labourers whose descendants comprise much of the current population. Mauritius is officially English-speaking and about one-third Christian, but French, Creole, Hindi and Bhojpuri. Urdu and Chinese are also spoken; half the population is Hindu and about fifteen percent Muslim. The capital is Port Louis.