Chamarel Waterfall vs the underwater waterfall

The “biggest waterfall in Mauritius” question has a plain answer: Chamarel, up the hill behind Le Morne, about 100 m and often quoted anywhere from 83 to 100, the highest single-drop fall on the island. Tamarind Falls, the Seven Cascades near Henrietta, is the best-known multi-tier one, and Alexandra Falls is a viewpoint in the Black River Gorges. Chamarel sits beside the Seven Coloured Earth geopark, dunes of red, brown, violet and green volcanic sand, with the Rhumerie de Chamarel next door. Both charge entry, extra on the road tour.

The underwater waterfall is not in that list because it is not a waterfall. Off the tip of Le Morne, sand slides off a shelf about 150 m deep into a drop-off of more than 4,000 m and, from a helicopter, looks like a river over a cliff. It is an illusion of height and angle; the sea surface is flat. Chamarel you can stand at the bottom of and get wet. See is the underwater waterfall real.

The airport helicopter loop puts them minutes apart: the pass off Le Morne, then a bank inland over the coloured earths and the waterfall before the south coast home. The scenic flight with transfers does the same pair from the west. If you are not flying, the private road tour with a driver reaches Chamarel for an hour, the geopark for another, and finishes with 30 minutes at Le Morne beach, where you will see the mountain and not the sandfall. Erna from the Netherlands wrote that “it’s wonderful when you don’t have to drive yourself through the high mountains”, which is a fair summary of the Chamarel road. Detail on the southern tour review and Le Morne tours.

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