Waterfalls in Mauritius compared, from Chamarel to the seven cascades

Waterfalls in Mauritius compared

The waterfalls in Mauritius differ most in how you reach them, from Chamarel Waterfall and Alexandra Falls, which you see from platforms a few minutes from the car, to Tamarind Falls, which takes a guided hike, and the 500 Pieds fall, whose base is on private land. The table compares the six falls with checkable current facts. Published heights often disagree, and several of these falls have never been reliably measured.

Chamarel Waterfall, the tallest single drop

Chamarel Waterfall is the tallest single-drop waterfall in Mauritius, at about 95 to 100 m in most published figures and 83 m in others, and it is also the easiest big fall in Mauritius to see. Two railed viewpoints inside the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark, a few steps from their own car park, face it across the gorge. The geopark ticket, Rs 800 for non-resident adults and Rs 400 for children aged 5 to 11 (checked on 29 October 2026), also covers the coloured earth and the giant tortoises.

The base is a different matter. The geopark prohibits going down alone, and the descent is sold only as a guided outing of about 3 hours. The fall runs fullest from December to April and can split into two thin streams in the dry months.

Alexandra Falls, the free stop on the plateau road

Alexandra Falls is a free viewpoint on the Plaine Champagne road, about 700 m above sea level in the Black River Gorges National Park, where a walk of about three minutes from the car park leads to a platform above the falls. Published heights run from 40 m to nearly 50 m. The falls are pretty rather than spectacular, and depend on the water level, so the wide view over the forest towards the south-east coast is half the reason to stop.

Macaques in the car park steal food, and cloud on the plateau can hide everything, so go in the morning and keep bags closed. A path continues from the viewpoint to the top of the 500 Pieds fall, about 30 minutes away, but the base is on private land and needs the landowner’s authorisation.

Tamarind Falls and its seven cascades

Tamarind Falls, also called Tamarin Falls, the Sept Cascades or the 7 Cascades, is a series of seven waterfalls near Henrietta in the interior of Mauritius, and it is what people usually mean by the 7 waterfalls of Mauritius. Tamarind Falls has nothing to do with Tamarin village or Tamarin Bay on the west coast, and a map pin for Tamarin is not a meeting point for the falls.

The walk starts near the dam, about 1 to 1.5 km from the Henrietta bus terminus, with the first 400 m through sugar cane. Reaching the fifth cascade takes about 2 to 3 hours and the seventh about 4 to 4.5 hours, on paths that are unmarked, steep and slippery even when dry. A roadside viewpoint near the terminus shows five of the seven falls without the walk, and buses reach Henrietta from Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Port Louis and Vacoas.

Local guides charge about Rs 1,000 per person (as listed in October 2026). Moderately fit hikers can manage without one. Beginners should take one. The sibling guide tamarindfalls.com advises a local guide who knows the terrain for hiking and an operator for any canyoning, and the name is no promise that a given trip visits all seven falls. For routes, canyoning and conditions, tamarindfalls.com is the detailed guide.

Rochester Falls, low and wide near Souillac

Rochester Falls is a fall of about 10 m on the Savanne River, about 2.5 km from Souillac in the south of Mauritius, where the water pours in steps over upright basalt columns, and it is the widest waterfall in Mauritius. The approach is fairly easy on foot or by car, following the signs through the sugar cane fields.

Young locals jump and dive from the rocks into the pool below Rochester Falls, especially in the school holidays and sometimes in exchange for a small tip. The jumping is dangerous, even though casualties have been few, and the falls are no place to be in heavy rain, when the water level and the current become dangerous. The depth of the pool is not published, so watch the jumping rather than join it.

Where you can swim, and where you should not

The only waterfalls in Mauritius where swimming is expressly allowed are four falls inside the paid VALLÉ Advenature Park (formerly La Vallée des Couleurs) at Chamouny, Vacoas, Cheveux d’Ange, Chamouzé and Bois de Natte. Entry costs Rs 550 for non-residents aged 12 and over and Rs 325 for children aged 6 to 11 (checked on 29 October 2026), and the park is about 22 minutes by road from Chamarel.

Everywhere else, a swim depends on the judgement of your guide or on local habit rather than on a rule. At Chamarel the pool at the base is reached only on guided hikes, and currents and flash floods argue against swimming there. At Tamarind Falls, never enter a pool on your own, and ask the operator about swimming. At Rochester Falls people do swim, but jumping is dangerous. Alexandra Falls is a view from above, with no swimming at all.

Whatever the fall, stay out of the water after heavy rain, when rivers rise quickly, and never jump into a pool whose depth you have not checked. In an emergency in Mauritius, call 999 for the police (112 also works) or 114 for the SAMU ambulance.

When the waterfalls flow best

The waterfalls of Mauritius flow best from December to April, in the rainy summer, and run thinnest from September to November, when Mauritius is driest. Mauritius Meteorological Services’ averages for 1991 to 2020 make February the wettest month and October the driest, and the central uplands, where several of these falls rise, receive 216 to 420 mm a month from December to April against 106 to 126 mm from September to November.

The same rain makes paths muddy and brings cyclone warnings, which can close the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark. The cyclone season runs roughly from November to April, with warnings possible until mid-May. For hikes such as Tamarind Falls, the drier months are kinder underfoot. For viewpoints such as Chamarel and Alexandra Falls, the wet months give fuller falls, and a morning visit gives the best chance of clear air on the plateau.

The best waterfalls in Mauritius for different visitors

The best waterfalls in Mauritius for different visitors are Chamarel for the biggest single drop with almost no walking, Alexandra Falls for a free short stop, Tamarind Falls for a hike or canyoning, and the VALLÉ Advenature Park for a permitted swim, because no official ranking exists and each fall answers a different wish.

• For a first visit with limited time, Chamarel Waterfall shows the most for the least effort, and the same ticket covers the coloured earth and the giant tortoises.
• For a drive across the plateau, Alexandra Falls costs nothing and sits on the same road as the Black River Gorges viewpoint.
• For hikers, Tamarind Falls has the most cascades and the most walking, best done with a local guide.
• For families who want to swim, the falls inside the VALLÉ Advenature Park are the only ones where swimming is expressly allowed.
• For a south-coast day, Rochester Falls is close to Souillac and best watched from the bank.