Volcanoes Mauritius 101

Trou aux Cerfs located in Curepipe on the plateau overlooks the surrounding cities and the west coast of the island. Trou aux Cerfs is around 600m high. It is said to be a dormant volcano. Scientists say that Trou aux Cerfs erupted some 100.000 years ago and it is locally believed that there is a connection between the active volcano of Piton de la Fournaise in the French island of Reunion and Trou aux Cerfs.

Trou aux Cerfs lies close to the Tea Route and is accessible by car. A track surrounds the crater easing visits any day of the week and a parking space with free access for visitors is available at the entrance. Hiking down the crater is not authorised and the crater is surrounded by a wooden fence. However the crater is visible from the rim. And down in the crater, water has filled the bed (or vent). Besides Trou aux Cerfs, other volcanic craters are Grand-Bassin, Bassin Blanc and Trou Kanaka but these are extinct volcanoes and are termed as crater lakes. They are accessible but be careful, paths are slippery.

Kids (and big kids!) would love visiting the volcanic crater. Besides being an educational trip, one will also get the feeling of what it feels like to be on the plateau with a temperature difference of almost 10 degrees with the coastline.

Lately, there’s a been a few protests regarding wild parking and poor respect of the area and following the intention of the city to build up kiosks and stalls to commercially develop the site. Mauritians played it tough this time and initiatives to conserve natural sites were felt in the petition against that project, which gathered 10.000 signatures.

By: A.V-TAYER, Mauritius. 24th of April 2017.

More facts about Trou aux Cerfs and volcanoes in Mauritius

Sites.stanford.edu

Morphotectonics of the Mascarene Islands

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