MauritiusMascarene IslandsIsland
Mauritius Island
1,866 km² rising to 828 m out of the Indian Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,866km²
Area
351km
Coastline
828m
Highest point
Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire
1,220,000
People
28°C
Warmest sea
February
1,815km
To the mainland
When to go to Mauritius Island
Best for the beach from June to July and from October to December.
The sea is warmest in February (28 °C) and coolest in August (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Main island in the country of Mauritius
Mauritius Island is an island in Mauritius. It belongs to Mascarene Islands. It covers 1,866 km², with 351 km of coastline. Its highest point, Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire, rises to 828 m. About 1,220,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,815 km away.
Getting there
- Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at MRU airport (Plaine Magnien)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries4 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,815 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to July and from October to Decemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mauritius Island.
- 162beachesPublic Beach Pointe aux Sables, Public Beach, Poste Lafayette Public Beach and 159 more
- 94viewpointsAlexandra Falls, Domaine Ylang Ylang, Kestrel Valley and 91 more
- 2lighthousesAlbion Lighthouse
- 4ferry terminalsFerry and Boats to Ile aux Cerfs, Boats to Ile aux Cerfs (Pointe Maurice) cheaper, Passenger Terminal and 1 more
- 6marinasSunset Boulevard Grand Bay, Trou d'eau Douce Marina, 5 Islands tour | Ile aux Cerfs | Excursions & Activities - Catamaran | Speedboat and 3 more
- 67named peaksBlack River Peak, Pieter Both, Le Pouce and 64 more
- 5volcanoesTrou Kanaka, Trou-aux-Cerfs, Mount Piton and 2 more
- 36waterfallsMinissy Waterfall, Chamarel Waterfalls, Alexandra Falls and 33 more
- 6castles and fortsLa Tour Koenig Windmill, Vinish manoir, Fort Adelaide and 3 more
- 31ruins and archaeological sitesChateau Koenig, Ruins of Balaclava, Le Morne Cemetery and 28 more
- 17dive centresSeaUrchin Diving Center, Dive Drem Divers Mauritius, Pro Dive Mauritius and 14 more
- 4waymarked walking routesEbony Forest, Ridgeline trail, Seven cascades short loop, Machabée Loop and 1 more
- 2campsitesHome, Sun palace tourist residence
- 715hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 850restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mauritius Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mauritius Island, each with its own numbers.
25beaches and covesCoastya
3lakesLakeyas
6waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
250m
Tamarind Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
3.5km²
Mare aux Vacoas
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
27.9°C
La Ferme Reservoir
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
27.9°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
25 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Mont Choisy27.9°C
- Trou Mahocove27.8°C
- Anse La Raiecove27.9°C
- Trou Thomycove27.8°C
- Baie du Sablecove27.8°C
- Bras de Mer des Requinscove27.8°C
- Anse des Requinscove27.8°C
- Anse du Petit Sablecove27.8°C
17 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
3 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Mare aux Vacoas3.5km²
- La Ferme Reservoir1.4km²
- Mare Longue Reservoir0.65km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
6 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Tamarind Falls250m
- Rochester Falls10m
- Chamarel Falls
- Mare aux Joncs
- Cascade Diamamouve
- Alexandra Falls
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 215 m above the sea. 56 % of it is below 200 m.
- 22 %0–50 m
- 34 %50–200 m
- 35 %200–500 m
- 9 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Port Louis155,226 people
- Vacoas115,289 people
- Beau Bassin-Rose Hill111,355 people
- Curepipe78,618 people
- Quatre Bornes77,308 people
- Triolet24,361 people
- Goodlands21,063 people
- Bel Air Rivière Sèche18,036 people
- Bambous17,818 people
- Centre de Flacq17,710 people
- Mahébourg17,042 people
- Saint Pierre16,704 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 126 | 113 | 124 | 79 | 46 | 32 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 48 |
| Wet days | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Sun h/day | 8.5 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 9.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 23 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 21 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.7 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | −0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.3 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +1.4 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
FranceAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q2656389) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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