During our stay in Mauritius Island certainly the whole coastline is the most beautiful and impressive part of the island but the mountain range over there bears also quite some beauties.

One of our afternoons we drive with our car upwards the Chamarel Mountain Road towards Chamarel village in the Black River Gorge region ( Riviere Noire District ) which is in the south- western part of the island.

During this drive you can watch the scenery of the coastline with its turquoise waters of its lagoons and the awesome view to the famous Le Morne and its Mountain range.

The green of the forest and the blue of the sea down there is harmonizing with each other and looking fantastic. The sun is shining , it is early in the afternoon and due to sunshine and clear weather the colors of nature are nicely bright.The air is fresh .

We are curious on what we will see at the top of the hill at Chamarel.

We arrive at the top and drive through the entrance of the natural park and get our car to the parking area. The forest around is full of exotic colorful flowers and very tall beautiful trees.

Chamarel rises 283 meters above the sea level and is a small area of very special sand dunes which cover an area of approximately 7500 square meters. Within the forest there is a 83 meter high wonderful waterfall called the Chamarel Waterfall, which is the drinking water of the island. It looks awesome in this wild environment.

Chamarel is a natural treasure and of unique beauty for its 7 colored Earth.

The 7 colors of the sand dunes are

• red
• brown
• violet
• blue
• green
• purple
• yellow

The colors are depending on the permanent change of the daylight and the wind.

This characteristic of the 7 colored Earth is quite unique. Similar geological sites are just very few in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The different colors evolved during a volcanic disruption while basaltic lava became minerals.Due to weather conditions on the island the water soluble elements in the soil were washed out and the remaining elements of black iron – and aluminum oxides appeared in the different shades of blue , purple and cyan …the mix of the different elements arranged the different color shades.

It is said that even if you mix the different colored sand with each other the elements will settle in different layers again and will appear in new shades or shadows.

It is also interesting that there is no erosion affect on the sand dunes – even when there is a heavy rain the dunes just stay as they are.

Today the 7 colored Earth is protected by a wooden fence and people are not allowed to enter the area but just walk around the sand dunes.

We walk around the fence and admire the different colors of the Earth .

It is funny to see how the colors are permanently changing while the sun is directly shining on them or clouds are passing by and giving some shadow to the colors.

While you look from different perspectives , again, you see different colors and pictures.

What secrets Mother Earth bears in herself – another reason for me to perceive Mauritius Island as a very special and beautiful place on Earth and this why it is also probably called a paradise island …

While we walk and look around, – to the sand dunes , the green of the mountains , the crowns of the exotic huge trees and while some exotic birds pass by , suddenly a soft and quiet rain begins.

The air is changing , the smell of the forest and the dunes is in the air ,the sand dunes are getting darker and more and more intensive in color . It looks great when you observe the change. It looks really marvelous . It is quiet around – not so many people so that you can really enjoy the play of the nature.

We watch the clouds , the rain and the sand dunes again and again and deeply breathe the fresh air into our lungs.

In one corner of the national park, there are also some giant turtles.

Now it is time to have some refreshments – we just go up to the small coffee corner which is just set at the site and has a very nice terrace above the 7 colored Earth.

From here you even have a better view. We manage to get some special local herbal tea – also the tea smells very aromatic ,natural and fresh.

We find some space under a single big umbrella while it is still softly raining.

We sit down , our tea cups in our hands , most of the people left the side as they got wet but for us it is the most beautiful time to fully enjoy the whole scenery .

How peaceful and relaxing it is to be here – we stay there with our tea for quite some time watching the sky till the late afternoon and then decide to leave.

Our way back to our hotel is long, the roads are tight and we might use a new road through the Chamarel villages to experience that region as well which will take some time and we want to be back before it is getting dark.