The tiny nation of Mauritius is home to plenty of natural wonders—from the now-extinct dodo bird to the pink pigeons that are endemic to the archipelago. Take a seaplane over Mauritius Island and you can see another one: an underwater waterfall. Or what appears to be one, at least.
At this site, clusters of rocks and sand gather around what appears to be rushing water dropping into an abyss. But this beloved phenomenon is an optical illusion—the “rushing water” is actually sand and silt dropping off an ocean shelf into depths of more than 13,000 feet.
How to visit the “underwater waterfall” in Mauritius
However, you can see the Mauritius “waterfall” in person. The best way to take in the view is on a seaplane, since you can’t see the optical illusion if you’re physically in the water. Take a ride with outfitter Lagoonflight, which offers seaplane tours that range from 15 to 80 minutes.
Underwater waterfalls do exist
Though the underwater waterfall in Mauritius isn’t real, don’t be disappointed just yet. Underwater waterfalls do exist naturally. To understand how, you have to know the geography and topography of the world’s oceans. When warm bodies of water meet cooler ones, the warm water pushes the cold water down because cold water is denser.
Sometimes, this interaction can lead to underwater waterfalls. The 300-mile sliver of water connecting the Greenland Sea to the open waters of the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Greenland—called the Denmark Strait—is one example. It’s home to an underwater waterfall that also happens to be the world’s tallest.
At this particular meeting point, the cold and warm water meet at an 11,500-foot-high area of seafloor, essentially causing the cold water to cascade over it to form the Denmark Strait cataract. To put the height in context, this waterfall is about 3.5 times the height of Angel Falls in Venezuela, which is the tallest waterfall on land.
Unfortunately, you can’t see the waterfall between Iceland and Greenland—via seaplane or in person—because the top of the Denmark Strait cataract is 2,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. At least you can visit Mauritius and imagine something so remarkable.
