Geography of Mauritius The Republic of Mauritius consists of 5 islands: Mauritius, Rodrigues, the two Agalega-Islands and the Cargados-Carajos-Archipelago. Mauritius lies at about 1800 km off the south-eastern coast of Africa, just above the tropic of Capricorn. It is 855 km to Madagascar and 200 km to La Réunion, which belongs to France. Together with La Réunion and Rodrigues, Mauritius forms the archipelago of the Macarene Islands.
Mauritius has a size of 1865 km² (half the size of Majorca). The capital is Port Louis, which is also the largest city. The other biggest towns are Beau Bassin-Rosehill, Vacoas-Phoenix, Curepipe and Quatrebornes.
The island is mainly surrounded by a coral reef, which protects the shores of the rough sea. On the southern coast there are some disruptions in the reef. Here the beaches are rougher and some are not suitable for swimming. Offshore of Mauritius there are some smaller, uninhabited islands, such as Coin de Mire, Ile d’Ambre and Ile aux Bénitiers.
In the centre of the island a wide-streched plateau with amazing mountain formations is situated. Here one can find extinct volcanoes, craters and waterfalls. Three mountain ranges are the evidence of the volcanic origin of Mauritius. The highest mountain of the island is Piton de la Rivière Noire with 828m.
