Seven Coloured Earths
Dunes of decomposed volcanic ash, striped in seven shades that never mix.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Difficulty
●●●○○
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The seven-coloured earth of Chamarel is volcanic ash decomposed into iron- and aluminium-rich clays. The two minerals have different densities, and rain separates rather than mixes them: the colours re-form by themselves after every shower, which is why they never blur together.
The site is small and takes twenty minutes on boardwalks. The same ticket admits you to the Chamarel waterfall, a hundred-metre drop into a wooded gorge, which is the more spectacular half of the visit.
Getting there
On the Chamarel plateau, in the island's south-west. An hour by road from Port Louis, on a mountain road.
What the price covers
paid entry to the Chamarel park, waterfall included; rate to be confirmed
Rules on site
The site is smaller than photographs suggest: it is the waterfall, included in the same ticket, that justifies the trip. You do not walk on the dunes — they are fenced off.