Curepipe

Curepipe (Mauritian Creole pronunciation: [kiːəpip]), also known as La Ville-Lumière (The City of Light), is a town in Mauritius, located mainly in the Plaines Wilhems District. Its eastern part lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Curepipe. Curepipe lies at a higher elevation, often referred to as the "Central Plateau". According to the census made by Statistics Mauritius in 2018, the population of the town was at 78,618.

The town's name, Curepipe, is said to be originated from the French curer sa pipe, which translates to "cleaning his/her pipe". There are several theories by historians as to the naming of the city. Some historians believe that the name was given as travellers and soldiers from the 19th century often travelled from Port Louis and Grand Port (now Mahébourg) to refill their pipes in Curepipe. Other historians believe that the name was given after a late landowner during the 18th century.

The town officially covers an area of 23.8 square kilometres (9.2 sq mi). It is located in the Plaine Wilhems district on the central plateau of Mauritius at an altitude of 561 meters. Of the larger towns of the island's central plateau, Curepipe is the most southern and also the highest. As a consequence of its height, Curepipe is known for its relatively cooler and rainier climate. The dormant volcano Trou aux Cerfs is nearby.

Curepipe is managed by a council, which is democratically elected by its citizens. The council is headed by the mayor and is principally responsible for local policy making. The current mayor is Mr. Dhaneshwar Bissonauth. The town's administration on the other hand is responsible for the implementation of these policies as well as the day-to-day management of the council's activities. The current administrative head is Mrs Jugroop.

Curepipe's historic town hall was actually originally situated in Moka, and the whole building was moved to Curepipe in 1903.

For the general elections the town is classified as the No 17 constituency known as Curepipe and Midlands.

According to the census made by Statistics Mauritius in 2018, the population of the town was at 78,692. The primary spoken language is Mauritian Creole, though French predominates in more formal situations. Tamil, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu, Mandarin and Hakka Chinese are also spoken as second or third language mostly in religious activities. The council's official language is English.

According to the 2012 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius, Christianity is the most prevalently practised religion in Curepipe (48.4%) (Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 1.3%, Other Christian 8%), followed by Hinduism (37.7%) and Islam (13.9%).