Wednesday Walk Challenge : The Trou aux Cerfs, the dormant volcano in Curepipe, Mauritius

This weeks walk went to the dormant volcano called Trou aux Cerfs. Its located in Curepipe, a rather big city in the center of the island. The first time I was here was in 1982. The last time must have been forteen / fifteen years ago. At the moment I have family visiting me in Mauritius and this crater was one of the places I recommended them to see. I decided to go with them. It is one of the most famous attractions on the island. You will see lots of tour companies advertising for tours. But their photos allways shows photos taken with a drone. In reality you don't see much, unless you have a drone.

We took the metro to Curepipe. From here we walked one kilometer, uphill to the edge of the crater. I couldn't remember what it looked like, but there is a parking, toilet facilities and benches from where you cna injoy the view. We started to walk. The diameter of the crater is 350 m. The depth is around 100 meters. It is not possible to walk along the edge to look down in the crater. The vegetation is dense, but after a short walk there is an opening that makes it possible to see the crater lake at the bottom.

Half way around the crater we can enjoy the view of the island. I am not sure of our altitude, but I think it's between 400 – 500 meters. We also pass theis meteorological station.

From this point and back to the starting point, we don't see anything but dense vegetation and tall trees. I must admit I was a little disappointed. This is not how I remember it. The landscape on Mauritius bear witnes of creation and its geological history. Its a volcanic island. The activity that made Mauritius rise from the ocean, happened eight million years ago. Trou aux Cerfs is not the only witnes. There are lots of marks in the landscape to prove how the island was created.

But, we took time to take a short break, enjoying the view. The last photo shows Curepipe. There are not to much wildlife here, except for lots of birds and fruit bats. We heard the birds, but didn't see the bats. It wasn't really worth the long trip from Grand Baie (one and half hour ) to come here, But now I know. Sometimes its good to go back to places to be reminded that things chance. Landscapes too.