A drive into southwest Mauritius brought me to the unusual coloured landscape of Chamarel, giant tortoises and one of the island's beautiful waterfalls.
One of my days in Mauritius took me away from Port Louis and into a completely different landscape. The destination was Chamarel. I knew about the Seven Coloured Earth before going there, but what I remember from the visit wasn't only the coloured ground. The whole area was green and peaceful, and there were giant tortoises as well.
Seeing the Seven Coloured Earth
The coloured earth is strange when you first see it. It isn't a huge mountain or some massive landscape. Instead, you are looking across gently shaped dunes where the soil changes between different shades. Red, brown, violet and other colours seem to sit alongside one another. The formation comes from Mauritius's volcanic geology and mineral composition. The present geopark also includes the coloured dunes, a waterfall viewpoint and an Aldabra giant tortoise area.
I spent some time simply walking around and looking at it from different sides.
Then came the tortoises
The tortoises were actually one of my favourite parts. They were enormous. There was something funny about watching these huge animals doing absolutely nothing in a hurry while everyone around them was taking photographs. The tortoises at Chamarel are Aldabra giant tortoises, one of the world's largest land-tortoise species. They gave the visit a completely different character. I had gone there thinking primarily about the Seven Coloured Earth, but I came away remembering the tortoises just as clearly.
The waterfall I couldn't remember the name of
For a long time I remembered seeing a waterfall on this trip but couldn't remember its name. Looking back at the route and the places I visited, I can now place it: Chamarel Waterfall. The waterfall viewpoint is part of the same Chamarel experience, and the waterfall drops through thick green vegetation below. It was one of those stops where you don't really need to do anything.
You just stand there for a while.
Mauritius away from the coast
What I liked about this day was seeing how quickly Mauritius could change. The beaches and coastal roads had been one side of the island. Chamarel was another: greener, higher and quieter. By the time I drove back, I felt I had seen much more of Mauritius than I would have if I had spent the entire trip beside the sea.
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