Indian life in Mauritius: food, festivals and entertainment

Mauritius is home to 891,697 overseas Indians. Here is where to find Indian food, festivals and entertainment there. For the Indian embassy and NRI services, see NRI services in Mauritius.

Indian food

Indian cooking runs through Mauritian food: dholl puri and farata with curries and chutneys are the island's favourite street food, sold from stalls and vans in every town, alongside gateaux piments (chilli fritters) and seven-curry meals.

Festivals and celebrations

Divali, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Ougadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Maha Shivaratri are public holidays. At Maha Shivaratri, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk to the sacred lake of Ganga Talao (Grand Bassin). Indian Arrival Day, 2 November, is also a public holiday. See the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.

Heritage and culture

The Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis, the depot where indentured labourers landed, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. India's cultural centre in Mauritius, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture at Phoenix, holds classes and performances.

Overseas Indian figures: Ministry of External Affairs, as of January 2026.