Travelogue: The Colours of Chamarel

When I visited the romantic Mauritius, I was awestruck at the pretty shades of blue and green displayed by the sea while its earth at some places showed off not just one or two, but seven colours splashed on its landscape’s canvas.

In the South West part of Mauritius, lies in the heart of a fertile valley Chamarel, a small village in Mauritius located in Riviere Noire District, with a population of 783 (according to 2011 census). I could see its peace and quiet as I went around taking walks in its lovely woods.

The village is named after the Frenchman Charles Antoine de Chazal de Chamarel, who lived in the area around 1800. Today it is primarily known for its scenic locations and nature attractions in its neighbourhood, among them are the Seven Coloured Earths, the Chamarel Falls and the Black River Gorges National Park. The surrounding area is also known for its locally grown coffee. Chamerel's church Saint Anna was built is 1876 and is subject to a pilgrimage on the Assumption of Mary (August 15), during which the village hosts a fair associated with the pilgrimage as well.

The Seven Coloured Earths are a geological formation and prominent tourist attraction found in the Chamarel plain. It is a relatively small area of sand dunes comprising sand of seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow). The main feature of the place is that since these differently coloured sands spontaneously settle in different layers, dunes acquire a surrealistic, striped colouring. This phenomenon can also be observed, on a smaller scale, if one takes a handful of sands of different colours and mixes them together, as they'll eventually separate into a layered spectrum. Another interesting feature of Chamarel's Coloured Earths is that the dunes seemingly never erode, in spite of Mauritius' torrential, tropical rains.

Another interesting fact is that scientists were unable to record a single trail of erosion of those colourful hills, despite the fact that they are exposed to abundant rains during the rainy season. The sands have formed from the decomposition of volcanic rock (basalt) gullies into clay, further transformed into ferralitic soil by total hydrolysis; the two main elements of the resulting soil, iron and aluminium, are responsible for red/anthracite and blue/purplish colours respectively. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures but the causes of their consistent spontaneous separation are yet to be fully clarified.

The place has become one of Mauritius' main tourist attractions since the 1960s. Nowadays, the dunes are protected by a wooden fence and visitors are not allowed to climb on them, although they can look at the scenery from observation outposts placed along the fence. Curio shops in the area sell small test-tubes filled up with the coloured earths.

Formed by the River St.Denis, the waterfalls of Chamarel (Cascade Chamarel) have a height of 83m (272ft). The waterfalls and are surrounded by lush vegetation of Black River Gorges.You can have a vivid view of the waterfalls from both a lower and an upper viewpoint from the Black River National Park. The St. Denis River flows through fields, gorges and green spaces seawards and makes for a splendid view. Tourists can choose to see the waterfalls from the upper deck situated at the Chamarel Seven Colored Earth reserve, or, can head down the trail to enjoy shallow water swimming at the bottom of the Chamarel falls.

The Chamarel Falls are definitely the most famous and recognised waterfalls in Mauritius and as such have always been a main attraction for tourists and if you are one, you simply cannot afford to miss the magnificent and “best waterfalls in Mauritius”!

The dream destination of many a dedicated traveller, the many charms of this much advertised island, Mauritius leaves you asking for more. Sega is synonymous with Mauritius Island and its inhabitants. Their bodies swing gracefully to the intense music making a powerful statement that it is their birth right to sing and dance. Truly, they are born to do it. Sega is the major music of the Mauritius and the nearby islands like Seychelles, Reunion, Mascarene and Rodrigues.

Kreol is their language, their identity, their love and their soul. You can’t separate the islanders from Kreol. Celebrating Kreol is celebrating life. But there is a struggle behind this journey, which has still not reached its destination. They are fighting for the identity and the rightful place for Kreol.

Every minute of my stay there was a surprise, because there is much more to Mauritius than beaches. It has a whole culture that is brought from other parts of the world, nurtured and widened with time. Today it is treasured and held in high esteem by the islanders.

Some call it Paradise on Earth, but aren’t there many other lands laying a claim to this coveted title?

Vijaya Pratap