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  • Chamarel
  • ILE MAURICE LE MAGIQUE 2
  • Grand-Bassin
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The Seven Coloured Earth are a geological formation and prominent tourist attraction found in the Chamarel plain, in the Black River District of south-western Mauritius. 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. 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.

Trou aux Cerfs is a dormant volcano with a well-defined cone and crater. It is 605 m (1,985 ft) high and located in Curepipe. The crater makes approximately 300 meters in diameter and is 80 meters deep. According to experts, the volcano is lying dormant but could become active at any time within the next thousand years. At the top of the crater a 360 degree panoramic view can be observe on the all central plateau.

Grand Bassin or Ganga Talao is a crater lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of the island. It is about 1800 feet above sea level. It is considered the most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and other Gods including Hanuman, Lakshmi, and others along the Grand Bassin. During the Maha Shivaratri, many pilgrims on the island walk bare feet from their homes to the lake. Origins of the Maha Shivratri - In 1897 two ‘pujari’ (priest) saw in a dream the water of the lake of Grand Bassin springing from the ‘Jahnvi’, thus forming part of Ganga. The news of the dream spread rapidly and created quite a stir in the Hindu community. The following year, pilgrims trekked to Grand Bassin to collect its water to offer to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

Mare aux Vacoas is the largest reservoir in Mauritius. It is located in Plaines Wilhems, in the southwest of the island, to the south of the town of Curepipe.It has a capacity of 25.89 Mm3 and provides water to the upper Plaines Wilhems and to Moka.