When I first mentioned to my husband that I wanted to see the Seven Colored Earths in Mauritius, he rolled his eyes. And I expect some of you will have the same reaction…like, why? Different colored dirt? Awesome, Heather, you do really exciting things when you travel.
It’s not for everyone.
But…when in Mauritius…
I’m fascinated by strange earth phenomena like the Seven Colored Earths. I mean, how neat is it that the earth can do sh-I mean stuff like that? It’s just amazing. Mauritius is a totally volcanic island that is truly in the middle of nowhere in the ocean. Ok, except Reunion. It’s in the middle of the Indian Ocean too. But they are out there–far from both the coast of East Africa and even farther from the Indian subcontinent. If I had to be stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean, Mauritius would be a great place to be…just saying. Also, sorry for those that aren’t geographically challenged, but I just got Adobe Illustrator (I used to have it for work a few years ago) and I’m having so.much.fun. Especially doing silly drawings like this. More on that in another post.
Ok, back to the regularly scheduled post. The Seven Colored Earths was a super quick jaunt from our hotel-the St. Regis in Mauritius (loved, read more about it here). But it is definitely a drive, not a bike. The road is pretty narrow, winding, and….pretty much straight uphill. Neither DH or I are out of shape or particularly nervous cyclists, but definitely would recommend taking a car. Plus, the Rhumerie is right nearby…
The Seven Colored Earths is a small area of sand dunes that are in brightly colored sand. While you can see the valleys in the sand, the dunes never seem to erode away and the sand never seems to wash away during rain storms. Kind of bizarre, really. With the lush greenery of Mauritius right behind the Seven Colored Earths, the contrast is really, really stark.
Now, I will admit, you can only spend so long wondering around looking at different colored sand. But isn’t it beautiful? How the sand looks, and how brightly colored it appears, depends largely on the lighting and whether or not the sun is blocked by a cloud or not. When hit by the sun, the sand has more powerful colors but I think less variation – but in the picture below when it is a bit overcast, there is more variation but less brightness.
There are also plenty of lizards and birds to entertain you if you like lizards (cough, DH took about 100 pictures of this one) or birds…
In any case, if you are in the Le Morne region of Mauritius, Chamarel and the Seven Colored Earths is absolutely worth a quick trip. I’d strongly recommend hitting the waterfall, the Seven Colored Earths, and the Rhumerie in an afternoon (or morning) outing. Even if you aren’t a drinker, or a rum drinker, the Rhumerie is beautiful and a lovely place to have a coffee or a quick lunch. I don’t really think there is a bad way to spend a day in Mauritius, really!
There is a small entrance fee for the waterfall and the Seven Colored Earths – I remember it being about $7, but don’t quote me on that. The two aren’t particularly close together and most people drive from the waterfall to the Seven Colored Earths though it’d probably be possible to walk. You don’t need anything special to visit, just sunscreen (remember location…) and a camera. If you are really in to sand, you can also buy a tube of it in the little gift store! You know, just in case you need some to bring home.
