Chamarel and the Central Highlands Travel Guide

Chamarel is a small village in the south-western hills, cooler and quieter than the coast, and the gateway to the island's interior. Most visitors come for a day from Flic en Flac or Le Morne, by car or with a driver; from the airport it is an hour to an hour and a half.

For Indian travellers the highlight is Ganga Talao, also called Grand Bassin, a crater lake about 550 metres up and one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites outside India. Ganges water was poured into it in 1972, and the 33-metre Mangal Mahadev statue of Shiva, completed in 2007, stands at the entrance, with temples to Ganesha, Hanuman and Durga around the lake. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk here for Maha Shivaratri, a Mauritian public holiday that falls on Saturday 6 March in 2027. Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered.

The Seven Coloured Earths are dunes of naturally layered red, brown, violet and yellow sand, best in the soft light of early morning or late afternoon. Chamarel Waterfall drops about 100 metres, the island's highest single drop, and runs strongest after rain. La Rhumerie de Chamarel offers distillery tours and lunch, and the edge of Black River Gorges has viewpoints within a short walk of the road.

Indian passport holders need no advance visa, and every traveller completes the All-in-One Travel Form before boarding. One Mauritian rupee is worth about two Indian rupees.