Misplaced Pages

#94905

22-708: 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 , Ebony Forest Chamarel 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 (15 August), during which

44-573: A geological formation and prominent tourist attraction found in the Chamarel plain of the Rivière Noire District in south-western Mauritius . It is owned by a private company and the people of Mauritius don't benefit from the natural made geological feature. 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

66-399: A distillery located in the plantations in the hills of Chamarel. The distillery, based on sugarcane, also has a museum where the process of manufacturing rum is displayed and narrated. It was established by the owner of Beachcomber hotel in 2008 and is known for the eco-friendly manufacturing process in which all byproducts are reused. The rum is said to have a good flavour and can be tasted at

88-410: A layered spectrum. 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. This Mauritius location article

110-534: Is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the coast. Fauna noted in the forest surrounding the town is tortoise. The population in the village is one of the lowest in Mauritius, according to the census made by Statistics Mauritius in 2011; the population was at 783. Creoles form the major work force in this village of the Black River district. Creole Morisyen of the village have adopted to the concept of preserving

132-461: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ebony Forest Chamarel Ebony Forest Reserve Chamarel or just the "Ebony Forest" is a registered Non-Profit organisation, registration number: NSIF/2024/0016 conserving Mauritian endemic species with a rehabilitated indigenous forest (including rare semi-dry forest types), situated in Chamarel, in the south-west of Mauritius . It

154-459: Is a descriptive—rather than an official—name. Sources report many variations of this name, including "Chamarel Seven Coloured Earths", "Chamarel Coloured Earth(s)", "Coloured Earth", and Terres des Sept Couleurs in French . 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

176-482: Is hardly any nitrogen but traces of lime, potash and phosphoric acid have been noted. However, the dominant percentage is of iron and alumina. Another interesting place to see is the Chamarel waterfall on the River du Cap . This is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the entrance gate of the town. The water falls by 95 metres (312 ft) (100 metres (330 ft) is also mentioned.) along a vertical cliff. Abseiling from

198-484: The Coloured Earths , which is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south west of the town. Coloured Earths is a phenomenon resulting from colour variations due to cooling of molten rock. The lava formations are estimated to be of 3.5 to 7 million years in age. These are heaps of exposed Earth's crust which show up in seven colours when sunlight falls on them. Viewing them in the morning hours when sunlight and

220-459: The Ebony ( Diospyros tesselaria ), Mauritius coral tree ( Chassalia boryana ), Bois tambour ( Tambourissa ) and Screw pines ( Pandanus ). The reserve has canopy walkways and view points, and also runs guided tours or safaris. There is a museum, snack point and educational facilities on the reserve. It is located next to the " Seven Coloured Earths " site, in the Chamarel area in the south west of

242-550: The L'Alchimiste restaurant at the site. The village church is the Chapel of St. Anne. Every year on 15 August, a pilgrimage, the Catholic Feast of Assumption, is held here when a fair is organized, funds collected and people served with the "Curry number two", a delicacy; the number two suffix to the name of the cuisine is attributed to monkey which takes second precedence in evolution. Popular adventure sports activities in

SECTION 10

#1732780332095

264-733: The Mauritius paradise flycatcher ( Terpsiphone bourbonnensis ), the Echo parakeet ( Psittacula eques echo ), the Pink pigeon ( Nesoenas mayeri ), the Mauritius kestrel ( Falco punctatus ), the Mauritius bulbul ( Hypsipetes olivaceus ), the Olive white-eye ( Zosterops chloronothos ). and the Grey white-eye ( Zosterops mauritianus ). The Mauritius flying fox , Mauritian tomb bat and the Natal free-tailed bat can be found here. The plants that can be found here are

286-520: The dew mingle bring out the best of its colours. A closer view is better than the views from the timber platforms and walkways erected for the purpose. The colour earth phenomenon is located downstream of the water fall on the Black River valley where the land is barren and plain which measures about 7–8 acres (2.8–3.2 ha) with hardly any vegetation. It gives the appearance of furrows in rows, as colors are observed in horizontal ridges known as "Les Cotes de Melon" ("The Melon's Slices"). An examination of

308-441: The ground condition where the colours of different shades, varying from "yellow and yellowish brown to bright red, purple, and coal black" indicates about forty hues. The samples collected from this area have been subject to chemical analysis which reveal that the formation consists of cohesive formation of ferruginous clays without any organic matter, and devoid or with least presence of any principal elements of soil fertility. There

330-581: The natural environment as it has provided them sustenance, while other creoles are in favour of ethnic tourism. Creole cuisine and the Rasrafarin music group and Group Natir are cultural traditions of the village which are popular. The Chamarel village is named after the Frenchman Charles Antoine de Chazal de Chamarel , who lived in the area around 1800. In the past the entire area of the village belonged to him. Mathew Flinders who

352-441: The place is that since these differently coloured sands spontaneously settle in different layers, dunes acquire a surrealistic , striped colouring. Since the earth was first exposed, rains have carved beautiful patterns into the hillside, creating an effect of earthen meringue. The sands formed from the decomposition of volcanic rock ( basalt ) gullies into clay , further transformed into ferralitic soil by total hydrolysis ;

374-469: The top of the fall is a water sport that can be organised upon request to some professionals service providers. Abseiling is done from the location where the fall begins and ends at the water pond down below, which is in an oval shape. The spray of the fall rises to half the height of the fall. Approach to the falls is stiff and slippery. One more place of interest in Chamarel is the Rhumerie de Chamarel ,

396-425: 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 (hence rates), but the causes of their consistent spontaneous separation are yet to be fully clarified. The name "Seven Coloured Earth(s)"

418-435: The village are mountain biking, and horse back riding in a riding school. There is also an adventure park in the forest which provides for activities such as crossing Zip-lines, mini suspension bridges, and rope ways. In addition, the newly restored Ebony Forest Chamarel is located near to the Coloured Earths and this conservation area is now open to visitors. Seven Coloured Earths The Seven Coloured Earths are

440-545: The village hosts a fair associated with the pilgrimage as well. Chamarel is a village located in the western hills on the west coast of Mauritius at an elevation of about 850 feet (260 m) between Savanne and the Black river districts where the cascades are formed on the River du Capano flowing through an "amphitheater of abrupt rocks". It is a wooded plateau. The village is known for its "hushed bucolic vibe and cool breezes". It

462-458: Was captured in Mauritius during the Napoleonic war was hosted by Chamarel in his estate. However, the local residents of the village call the area as the "Valley of Blacks". The village has plantations of sugarcane and pineapples. Coffee plantations are also extensive. Arabica coffee plants and palm salad trees are lined on the way to the waterfall. One of the notable places of interest is

SECTION 20

#1732780332095

484-461: Was established in June 2017, after 10 years of work in restoring the forests and planting 130,000 endemic plants. In addition to the reintroduced endemic species, the reserve is home to some of the few remaining stands of original mature endemic Ebony forest . Till present more than 154,000 plants have been planted and 34 ha have been weeded from invasive plant species. The birds commonly found here are

#94905