The Seven Coloured Earth Geopark at Chamarel, Mauritius
The Seven Coloured Earth is a bare patch of rippled, banded earth of about 7,500 m² inside the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark in south-west Mauritius, and one ticket, Rs 800 for non-resident adults and Rs 400 for children aged 5 to 11 (checked on 29 October 2026), also covers both Chamarel Waterfall viewpoints and the giant tortoises. The coloured earth is smaller than most photographs suggest and is seen from a fenced walkway, so a visit takes 45 minutes to 2 hours. Arrive for the 08:30 opening on a sunny day, when the colours are at their strongest and the afternoon coaches are still hours away.
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What you actually see at the Seven Coloured Earth
From the fenced walkway at the Seven Coloured Earth you look down onto a small area of bare, rippled earth in shades of red, brown, purple and grey, with forest on every side. The ridges are not desert dunes but rills, small channels that rain has cut into basalt weathered to clay, and the colours lie in bands across them. Everyone keeps to the marked paths and the perimeter, because walking on the coloured earth is strictly prohibited.
The bare ground covers about 7,500 m², roughly a football pitch, inside a geopark of about 8.5 ha. Close-up photographs in strong colour make it look much larger, and the first reaction at the rail is often surprise at how quickly it has been seen. The way to enjoy it is to slow down, walk the whole perimeter and look closely at the fine ridges and at the edges where one colour meets the next, which are what make the place unusual.
The colours and the light that brings them out
The colours of the Seven Coloured Earth are strongest in direct sunshine, above all when the sun comes out after rain, and look flat and muddy under grey cloud at any hour. The geopark lists red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow; on the ground the clear shades are reddish, brown, grey and purple, so the number you count depends on the light and on how generously you count. Iron gives the reds and aluminium oxides the purples, as the page on why the earth is coloured explains.
Morning is the safer bet. Direct sun matters more than the clock, and mountain shadow dulls the colours late in the afternoon, so an 08:30 arrival on a clear day gives the best light and the emptiest walkway. The geopark’s own advice is mornings or late afternoons. Because the gates open at 08:30 and close by 17:30, neither sunrise nor sunset can be seen from inside the park, so ignore any advice to come at dawn.
The giant tortoises and the endemic garden
The Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark ticket includes both the tortoise park, home to Aldabra giant tortoises, and an endemic garden of native plants. The tortoises belong to a species from Aldabra in the Seychelles that typically lives more than 150 years. The park names eight of them, Toto, Rosette and Tchaikovsky among them, and raises young ones in a nursery. The animals are most active in the cooler hours, so they are livelier early and late in the day than at midday.
Nobody enters the tortoise park or feeds the tortoises, and the rule is to keep a respectful distance at all times. The geopark has worked with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation since 2009 on removing invasive plants and planting native ones, and has supported conservation work on the echo parakeet and the pink pigeon.
The café, the shops and the coffee tour
Inside the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark, the Viewpoint Café and the Dunes Boutique open every day from 09:30 to 17:00, and a guided coffee plantation tour runs four times a day at extra cost (checked on 29 October 2026). The entrance ticket includes free time at the café and the boutique, with food, drink and souvenirs paid for as you go. The coffee comes from the geopark’s own Café de Chamarel plantation, where Arabica grows at about 280 m and is picked by hand from May to July, and the beans are sold at the Coffee Plantation Boutique.
The guided Café de Chamarel coffee tour costs Rs 1,000 for non-resident adults and Rs 500 for children, or Rs 650 and Rs 325 for residents (checked on 29 October 2026). Tours leave daily at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 and last up to 80 minutes, a 45 to 60 minute walk followed by a 15 to 20 minute tasting, in English or French. The geopark calls it the only coffee plantation in Mauritius.
Two car parks and 3 km of road inside the park
The Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark has two car parks, one at the Chamarel Waterfall viewpoints about 1.5 km by road from the entrance and one at the coloured earth about 3 km from it. You buy tickets at the main entrance or at a drive-through booth and then drive on, reaching the waterfall first. Entry is charged per person, not per car.
Walking is allowed and self-guided. The walk from the entrance to the dunes is 3 km, 6 km there and back, and takes about an hour. By car the two car parks are about five minutes apart. In the afternoon the dunes car park fills with taxis and small coaches, though a space soon comes free.
The paths are laid in basalt rock, which is hard going for anyone with reduced mobility, and strollers are restricted where the ground is uneven. The geopark has accessibility work under way and gives no completion date.
How long to stay and the best time to go
A visit to the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark takes 45 minutes to 2 hours, the range the geopark itself gives, and the time to arrive is the 08:30 opening on a sunny day (checked on 29 October 2026). There is no time limit within opening hours, and that range covers the waterfall viewpoints, the walk round the coloured earth and the tortoises, while the coffee tour adds up to 80 minutes. Taken slowly, the dunes fill about an hour and a half and the waterfall an hour, and the roadside viewpoint, the waterfall and the coloured earth together make an unhurried two and a half hours.
An early start also beats the crowds. The waterfall viewpoint is quiet until about 10:00 and busier after that, and by the afternoon the car parks are full of taxis and coaches. Weekdays are quieter than weekends, October to April is the peak season and December and January are the busiest months. Cruise lines sell shore excursions that include Chamarel, so a day with a ship in Port Louis brings extra coaches up the hill.
Tickets, opening hours and what one ticket covers
One ticket to the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark, Rs 800 for a non-resident adult and Rs 400 for a Mauritian resident adult, covers the coloured earth, both Chamarel Waterfall viewpoints and the tortoise park, and the gates open daily at 08:30, closing at 17:30 from October to May and at 17:00 from June to September (checked on 29 October 2026). Children’s rates and the last ticket time are in the table below.
The ticket also includes the endemic garden and time at the Viewpoint Café and Dunes Boutique. It does not cover the guided hike to the foot of the waterfall, a descent nobody may make alone, nor the coffee tour, Ebony Forest, the Lavilleon adventure park or Curious Mauritius opposite the entrance, and the geopark runs no guided visits of its own.
Payment is in Mauritian rupees only, in cash, by debit or credit card except Diners Club, or with the Mauritian mobile wallets Juice by MCB, Pop and Blink, and foreign cash and split payments are refused. Tickets are valid for one entry on the date shown and cannot be transferred or refunded. The geopark is open all year but closes during cyclone warnings and very heavy rain, and the cyclone season runs roughly from November to April, with warnings possible until mid-May.
| Days | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Sunday | 08:30 to 17:30 |
| Days | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Sunday | 08:30 to 17:00 |
Open every day including Sundays and public holidays, except during cyclone warnings and very heavy rain. The last ticket is sold at 17:00 from October to May.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult, non-resident | Rs 800 |
| Child 5 to 11, non-resident | Rs 400 |
| Adult, Mauritian resident | Rs 400 |
| Child 5 to 11, Mauritian resident | Rs 200 |
| Under 5 | Free |
One ticket covers the coloured earth, both waterfall viewpoints and the giant tortoise enclosure. Payment in Mauritian rupees by cash or card; foreign cash is not accepted. Resident rates need an ID card or residence permit at the gate.
Drones and the rules on site
Drones are not allowed at the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark unless the management has authorised them in advance, and the other rules on site keep everyone off the coloured earth, out of the tortoise park and free of smoke, alcohol and loud music. Personal photography and video are welcome and commercial shoots need prior approval, while Mauritius’s Department of Civil Aviation separately bars leisure drones from any area the public can access, as the photography page explains.
- Stay on the marked paths and the perimeter of the dunes, because walking on the coloured earth or collecting samples is strictly prohibited.
- Do not pick, damage or remove plants, flowers, rocks or soil anywhere in the geopark.
- Leave pets at home, as only registered service animals are allowed.
- Smoking, alcohol and drugs are prohibited, and so are amplified music and loud gatherings.
- Stay out of the tortoise park, do not feed the tortoises and keep a respectful distance from them.
- Ask the management for approval before any commercial photo or video shoot, through reservations@7colouredearth.mu.
Questions people ask
Where is the Seven Coloured Earth?
The Seven Coloured Earth is in Chamarel, a hill village in south-west Mauritius that lies mainly in the Rivière Noire (Black River) district. The dunes sit inside the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark, about 3 km along the park road from the entrance on the 7 Coloured Earth Road, south-west of the village. By road Chamarel is about 14 km and 18 minutes from Le Morne, and about 43 km and 40 minutes from the airport.
How much does the Seven Coloured Earth cost?
The Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark charges non-residents Rs 800 per adult and Rs 400 per child aged 5 to 11, and Mauritian residents Rs 400 and Rs 200, with children under 5 free (checked on 29 October 2026). The same ticket covers both Chamarel Waterfall viewpoints and the giant tortoises. Payment is in Mauritian rupees only, in cash, by card or with a local mobile wallet.
How long do you need at the Seven Coloured Earth?
The Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark gives a minimum of 45 minutes and a maximum of 2 hours, and there is no time limit within opening hours. That is enough for the two waterfall viewpoints, the walk round the coloured earth and the tortoises. Allow up to 80 minutes more for the coffee tour, and half a day or more if you add the Rhumerie de Chamarel or Ebony Forest.
Can you walk on the Seven Coloured Earth?
Nobody may walk on the Seven Coloured Earth. The geopark rules keep everyone to the marked paths and the perimeter of the dunes, and walking on the coloured earth or collecting samples is strictly prohibited. The dunes are seen from a fenced walkway, which is one reason the bare ground, about 7,500 m² in all, feels smaller in person than in close-up photographs.
Are drones allowed at the Seven Coloured Earth?
Drones are not allowed at the Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark unless the management has authorised them in advance, and commercial photo or video shoots also need prior approval. Personal photography and video are allowed. Mauritius’s Department of Civil Aviation separately bars leisure drones from any area the public can access, so an unplanned flight over the dunes or the waterfall breaks two sets of rules.
What is the difference between the Seven Coloured Earth and the 23 coloured earth?
The Seven Coloured Earth is at Chamarel, inside a geopark that also holds the Chamarel Waterfall viewpoints. The 23 coloured earth is at VALLÉ Advenature Park, formerly La Vallée des Couleurs, in Chamouny, about 21 km and 22 minutes away by road. VALLÉ is an adventure park with waterfalls, ziplines and quad rides on its own ticket, Rs 550 for non-residents aged 12 and over (checked on 29 October 2026).
Is the Seven Coloured Earth open on Sundays?
The Chamarel 7 Coloured Earth Geopark opens every day from 08:30, Sundays and public holidays included. Closing time is 17:30 from October to May, with the last ticket sold at 17:00, and 17:00 from June to September (checked on 29 October 2026). The geopark closes during cyclone warnings and very heavy rain, so check the weather before driving up in the cyclone season.
Is the Seven Coloured Earth made of sand?
The Seven Coloured Earth is not sand, although people often search for the seven coloured sands of Mauritius. The material is basalt that has weathered into clay, coloured by iron and aluminium oxides and cut into ridges by rain. Small test tubes of the coloured earth are sold as souvenirs in the area, but collecting earth from the dunes yourself is strictly prohibited.
Build the rest of the day
The waterfall, the Rhumerie de Chamarel and Ebony Forest are all close by, and the day plan puts them in an order that avoids the crowds and the cloud.