One of Mauritius’ most iconic attractions, the island’s original and premier geopark provides a unique experience for geology enthusiasts, nature lovers and those who simply want to understand more about this rare and impressive phenomenon.

 

Our 8.5-hectare park is the place to visit in Mauritius for an immersive experience blending geology, education and conservation with wonder and discovery in order to connect to the island’s fascinating natural heritage. Mauritius is part of the fascinating story of continental drifts and collisions, volcanic eruptions and other breathtaking events that led to the formation of tropical reefs and oceans, lagoons, mountain ranges and basalt cliffs. Weathered by hot and humid conditions, basalt formed from outpourings of lava that occurred during the intermediate period from 3 to 1.7 million years ago turned into gullied clay.

 

This profound and ultimate decomposition has left on-site iron and aluminium oxides. The ferric oxide has coloured the sands with shades ranging from red to brown while the aluminium oxide has produced shades ranging from blue to violet-blue.

 

The consistent separation of the different strips of coloured sand may be explained by the fact that iron and aluminium particles have a natural repelling effect on one another. The swirling patterns of the dunes have been carved out by rain over thousands of years.