Granitic Islands of the Seychelles you may wish to visit
Mahé
The main island of the Seychelles Archipelago is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the world. Each of its 70 beaches has a different character; the rock formation makes a dramatic back ground of architectural elegance to the beaches and hotels.
Mahé covers roughly 150 square kilometres and is 27 kilometres long by 10 kilometres at its widest point. Considering its mountainous interior, covered with lush vegetation, it is small wonder that the island’s original name was “Ile d’Abondance”.
The highest point, Le Morne Seychellois, is 930 metres above sea level. Even high up in the interior the roads are comfortable. There are plenty of opportunities to walk through winding paths to appreciate the lush flora and fauna at close quarters, especially in the Morne Seychellois National Park.
The airport at Pointe Larue, south of Victoria, is built on reclaimed land from the sea. Landing there, can be an interesting experience, leaving one with the impression that one is landing on water, and at the same time offering stunning views of the verdant island and its coastline.
Victoria, the national capital with a population of some 20,000 is spread around a large bay at the foot of Le Morne Seychellois and the Mont Trois Frères. The medium-size town is the islands’ economic and administrative hub, and Port Victoria its only international port.
The clock tower in the town centre is a replica of the clock that stands at the junction of Victoria Street and Vauxhall Bridge Road in Central London. Erected as a memorial to Queen Victoria in 1903, the Seychelles clock tower is today more readily associated with the declaration of Seychelles as a British Crown colony in its own right, having been detached from Mauritius some 1,500 kilometres further south. A modern monument, just outside the old town centre on the reclaimed part, is a huge sculpture by Lorenzo Appiani, known as the Bi-centenary Monument, which represents the fusion of three continents from which the mixed population of Seychelles originate. If you wish to arrange an appropriate meeting place, which local people tend to use, the Pirate’s Arms café on Independence Avenue is the place where one can have a drink or a meal.
Places of interest to visit in town are the souvenir kiosks along Francis Rachel Street, the Selwyn Clarke Market, which is noted for its colourful and bustling atmosphere, the Natural History Museum opposite Barclays’ Bank and the National History Archives on State Avenue. Many visitors like to spend some quite time sheltering from the mid-day sun and heat at the Anglican or the Roman Catholic cathedral. The Botanical Gardens, which is located a kilometre outside town on the road to Mont Fleuri is well worth a visit, for its shade and well-tendered gardens.
The beaches of Seychelles are what dress the islands in their full glory. The East Coast, on which the airport is situated, has long beaches such as Anse aux Pins and Anse Marie-Louise. There are many small ones too, which you could claim as your very own during your visit, being often deserted.
Those who wish to avoid crowded beaches would love Anse Intendance on the south coast with its pure white sand, but caution should be exercised on some of the Seychelles’ beaches, as there are strong undercurrents. It is always wise to consult with your guide at the hotel concerning the safety aspect. Most beaches, however, are perfectly safe, such as Anse à la Mouche, with a large palm-fringed bay and shallow waters. It is very safe for swimming and snorkelling.
To many visitors and local alike, the best beach on Mahé is Beau Vallon in the north of the island and within easy access from Victoria. It is a two-mile long curve of white sand with crystal-clear water, which is especially calm and welcoming most of the year round. Several hotels at Beau Vallon offer excellent water sports and scuba diving facilities.
The smaller islands that are most accessible from Mahé for half-day or full-day excursion, are Cerf, Moyenne, Round and St. Anne. The best way to appreciate the wonders of the ocean is to make the trip by glass-bottom boat, through which you could see shoals of colourful fish. Unfortunately in recent years large sections of corals have suffered from a rise in the sea temperature due to global warming, but there are some signs of regeneration.
Created in 1973, the St Anne Marine National Park was one of the first marine parks of the Indian Ocean and now protects over 150 types of fish. Naturally fishing is forbidden, as is the collecting of shells and coral. With the new five-star hotel, St. Anne Resort & Spa, the island is a holiday paradise for visitors who wish to enjoy a peace and seclusion.
The lush island is 15 minutes by boat from Mahé. Its northern tip, which lies on the edge of the marine park, has a superb coral reef, ideal for snorkelling or scuba diving. The interior is home to giant tortoises and fruit bats. Its two restaurants serve excellent Créole food.
Moyenne, a privately owned island, is by nature a wild park with accessible paths through the vegetation, including two-thirds of endemic palm trees, and many others trees and shrubs. More than 100 giant-tortoises roam freely on the island while the 2,000-strong bird population, with 100 endemic turtledoves continues to multiply.
Huge granite boulders and white sandy beaches add to the splendour of the island, which is conveniently situated in the heart of the St. Anne Marine National Park and sheltered by corals reefs teeming with around 150 species of fish.
Pirate graves, a treasure dig, ancient ruins, a museum, turtle lagoon and Jolly Roger Bar and Restaurant add to its attraction for all age groups.
This small round island, dense with rich vegetation, is 800 metres off Cerf and just over four kilometres from Mahé.
The entire area is open for underwater exploration and the corals between the islands make it particularly rich in fish and marine life. Shellfish and starfish abound near the sandy beaches. For several years until 1942, the island was used as a sanctuary for women affected by leprosy. Until recently there was a thriving Créole restaurant run by the Calais family.
Round Island, Praslin lies a short distance off Baie Ste. Anne in Praslin. There is one beautiful sandy cove facing towards Praslin with a beach, bar and restaurant. The smallest resort in the Indian Ocean merges with the forest and the hillside, comprising just one main house and three villas. A boardwalk skirts the edge of the hill and climbs to the summit, where there is a spectacular view of the island.
The second largest granitic island is Praslin, about 40 kilometres from Mahé. It is 15 minutes by an Air Seychelles twin otter, which offers 20 scheduled flights a day. By regular ferry its takes approximately one hour. The island has a population of approximately 6,000. There are several excellent hotels, including the Lemuria Resort and Château de Feuilles. Praslin is not as mountainous as Mahé, the highest point being 330 metres, but it has similarly great granite outcrops surrounded by beautiful beaches, and a coral reef enclosing the crystal clear waters, which are so typical of Seychelles. The majestic bays and beaches alternate with smaller ones on which, even in a busy season you could believe you were the only person on the island.
Anse Volbert or Côte d’Or, situated on the eastern part of the island, is particularly beautiful with its pure white sand. Hotels, such as Berjaya Praslin Beach offer a whole variety of water sports facilities.
Fantastic granite superstructures create striking background to the beaches of Anse Bois de Rose, Anse Boudin and Anse Kerlan, where the five-star Lemuria Resort stands, with its 18-hole championship golf course, the only one in Seychelles. At the northernmost tip of the island, stands Anse Lazio with its excellent swimming and snorkelling facilities, and celebrated as the finest beach in Seychelles. Grand’Anse on the west coast has an equally beautiful beach for lazing around, but the water are heavy with seaweed during the south-east monsoon, and because it is very shallow at low tide swimming is difficult.
Baie Pasquière and Anse Volbert to the north and Baie Ste Anne to the south have natural harbours, which are best appreciated if you opt for making a trip from Mahé to Praslin by ferry. The view as you sail into Baie Ste Anne is striking.
One of the eternal symbols of Seychelles, the huge coco-de-mer nut, grows in the Vallée de Mai forest in Praslin, and also home to one of the world’s rarest birds, the black parrot. The Vallée de Mai, a World Heritage Site, is open to the public from 08.30 to 16.30. This area is heavily protected and is being allowed to return to its natural state following ill-advised attempts to introduce non-native plants in this area, during the thirties and forties.
Paths are well maintained and clearly marked, and a nature trail leads to all interesting botanical species.
The walk through the “Vallée” allows one to step back in time into the primeval forest, canopied by thick palm fronds blocking out the sunlight. The silence is eerie as one steps back in time, broken only by the call of the black parrot and the clatter of huge sturdy leaves as the wind blows through the trees.
In streams, freshwater crayfish and crabs can be seen, and the plants around one include the coco-de-mer, bois rouge, ferns, lataniers, coco marron, screwpines and orchids, all growing around the granite mass. Fruit bats, blue pigeons, bulbuls, lizards, geckos, chameleons, snails and insects can also be observed in the Vallée de Mai. Praslin is perfect to explore on foot and is covered by a network of walkways. There is no danger of getting lost, as the island is small and one takes only one hour to cross its width.
Cousin Island has been a nature reserve since 1968, when it was bought by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation. It is a place of pilgrimage for dedicated ornithologists. They can find the Seychelles warbler, Seychelles magpie robin and Seychelles fody, which are found elsewhere only on the rat free islands of Aride, Cousin, Fregate and D’Arros. Malagasy turtle dove and Seychelles sun birds are also found there. Sea birds abound on Cousin, with more than 250,000 pairs coming to nest every year. There are brown noddies, lesser noddies, wedged-tailed shear-waters, auduban shear-waters, bridle terns, as well as fairy terns, one of the symbols of Seychelles seen on the livery of Air Seychelles. There are interesting geckos, giant tortoises introduced from Aldabra, and hawksbill turtles, which lay their eggs above the tide line of the beach. The reserve is open on certain days.
The Seychelles government declared Cousin a special reserve in 1975. The reserve is under the management of BirdLife Seychelles. Visitors may not collect shells or take a picnic; even smoking is forbidden. It is possible to arrange an excursion from your hotel to visit Cousin through your tour operator.
Cousine Island is no ordinary resort. Guests arrive by helicopter and are accommodated in just four villas to minimise human impact on the island. There are very few islands in the world that have survived intact as Cousine has done, with such a profusion of wildlife and almost none, where it is possible to stay overnight and soak in the atmosphere. A systematic rehabilitation programme to restore the island includes the planting of thousands of native trees, the protection of the huge seabird colonies and the reintroduction of endemic birds.
Lying about one mile to the north east of Praslin, this island of two miles long was first given the name of Ile Rouge on account of its red earth. As part of the Marine Park the island is completely protected and only a few families live there. Like Praslin, Curieuse is home to the coco-de-mer palm. The island has a wild population of 250 giant tortoises, brought over from Aldabra in the 1980s and a breeding scheme has been in place there for several years. Curieuse was once a leper colony, and the ruin of the houses can still be scene.
There is also a large colonial villa known as the Doctor’s House, where the island doctor lived in the 1870s.
Nature trails wind their way across the island, notably through the extensive swamps, home to nine different species of mangrove. Excursions to Curieuse include a barbecue and often a visit to Cousin as well.
This is the most northerly of the granite Seychelles islands and was bought by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1973. It is second only to Aldabra in importance as a nature reserve in Seychelles. On Aride there are more breeding species of sea birds than on any other island in the region, together with the only breeding sites in the granite islands for the red-tailed tropic birds, roseate terns, and the world’s only sooty tern colony in tall woodland. The warden will guide you to the breathtaking cliff-tops, where hundreds of fregate-birds, soar above the turquoise water. If you are lucky you will glimpse hawksbill turtles and dolphins in the waters below. Seychelles warblers, 29 of which were introduced from Cousin in 1988, have multiplied to over two thousand.
Aride is also a botanical treasure house, being the world biggest site for the beautiful Wright’s Gardenia, or bwa citron, and a specie of “peponium” that might also be endemic to the island. Visits can be arranged from most Praslin hotels, but landing can be sometimes difficult during the south-east monsoon. The world’s largest colony of lesser noddies and possibly white-tailed tropic-birds further enhance Aride’s reputation as the sea-bird citadel of the Indian Ocean. Aride has only recently become home for the endangered Seychelles magpie-robin and the Seychelles fody, which are also found on Cousin.
La Digue is the third largest granitic island in terms of its population, home to about 2,000 people. It is a half-hour boat trip from Praslin or three hours by schooner from Mahé. However, visitors with a tight schedule may prefer to take the 20-minute flight with Helicopter Seychelles.
The pace of life is slow, about the same speed as its traditional way of transport, the oxcart. Very few cars are allowed on the island and the bicycles are very popular. They can be hired from various bicycle rentals at Anse Reunion or at La Passe harbour on arrival. At l’Union Estate, a fine old traditional planter’s house has been carefully restored. It used to be the centre of a vanilla plantation of which the treatment factory can still be seen. Further inland, Château Saint Cloud, built under Napoléon’s Régime is another impressive restored plantation house.
On the agricultural estate, you can see furnace-dried coconuts, or copra, being turned into oil. Also of historical interest, at Cap Barbi, the graves of early colonists from Bourbon Island (Réunion today) can be found. The old cemetery at l’Union Estate is also an attraction. La Digue is noted for its superb beaches and snorkelling.
There are more spectacular granite formation which have been shaped by wind and sea over million of years. Eagle’s Nest Mountain rises dramatically to 300 metres, taking up most of the island. Beaches at Pointe Cap Barbi, like many other beaches, have a dramatic granite backdrop.
The remote beaches at Grand’Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos with their pink-tinged sand are beautiful, but beware of dangerous undercurrents, especially during the south-east monsoon. It is always wise to seeking advice from your hotel.
Most part of the island can be reached in under an hour. Among the birds you will encounter is the unique Seychelles black paradise flycatcher, one of the rarest birds in the world, which is the symbol of the island. In the distance, Praslin can be seen, completing a merging pattern of islands.
Frégate is the most isolated of the granitic islands, and is 20 minutes from Mahé by Air Seychelles. Of all the islands, it has the most romantic associations with the world of pirates and hidden treasure. Some relics on the island suggest that it was a refuge for pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, was persuaded from ancient maps he discovered here, that a treasure was hidden somewhere on the island.
More obvious treasures are the abundant flora and fauna. Frégate is the stronghold of the critically endangered Seychelles magpie robin (less than 100 birds in the world), saved from extinction by BirdLife International. Recently the Ministry of Environment established successfully on Frégate another highly threatened endemic bird, the Seychelles white-eye (300 in the world). The island boasts the world’s only population of tenebrionid beetle, as well as numerous giant tortoises. Despite the abundance of exotic vegetation and planted coconut palms, a lot of native trees have been propagated and replanted in recent years. There are superb beaches, such as Anse Victorin, which some say is the prettiest in Seychelles. It is also a walker’s paradise, with wooded paths leading through the plantation and the groves. With the five-star Frégate Resort, the island is a holiday resort preserve for its guests.
From Beau Vallon Beach on Mahé the outline of Silhouette can be seen as the sun falls behind Mont Dauban. Despite being the third largest island of the granitic Seychelles by size, Silhouette has a population of just 130. Although close to Mahé, until recently it had few visitors as coral reefs made it difficult to land. Today a proper jetty has been built and most visitors arrive by helicopter. The Island Development Company runs a boat transfer twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, as well as a guest-house on the island. Helicopter or boat transfers can be organised for the clients of Labriz Silhouette, the only hotel on the island.
Unlike its neighours, the island is of volcanic origin and is named after an 18th century dignitary. The famous privateer, Hodoul, once lived on Silhouette and is generally believed that he buried treasure there.
There are no roads, so it is a place generally for walkers. For serious walkers there are two paths through equatorial forests linking La Passe to Grand’Barbe, and La Passe to Anse Mondon. It takes between half a day to hike there and back. The island is very mountainous; Mont Dauban is 780 metres high, much of it is covered with albezia trees, but higher up there are many plants unique to Seychelles. There are many traditional Créole houses and an old plantation house, one of the finest in Seychelles.
The Dauban family mausoleum, built in the grand classical style is listed as a national monument, looking at odds with its surroundings.
There were mysterious graves at Anse Lascare, which were later destroyed by the sea. Once believe to be evidence that these islands were already known to Arab traders, these graves have now been dated from the arrival of the first Europeans and their slaves. Day trips can be organised with private boats chartered from Beau Vallon or through Helicopter Seychelles.
Bird and Denis Islands
If you wish to share an island with a million sooty terns, then Bird Island is the place to be between April and September, when the terns breed. Other species of tern, such as the noddies and the fairy tern are also present.
This flat coral island 30 minutes by Air Seychelles from Mahé, is right at the northern edge of the archipelago, where the Indian Ocean drops to 2,000 metres. This location creates a second ornithological wonder. When winter grips the Northern Hemisphere, rare migrants and windblown vagrants arrive at this first landfall of Seychelles. Many species new to Seychelles have been seen here, giving the tourist a rare opportunity for a close-up bird watching, especially between October and March.
Bird Island is a privately own nature reserve, and whenever you visit there will be plenty to surprise and delight you. Of special note in the nesting of hawksbill turtles between October to February and green turtles the rest of the year.
There are good swimming and snorkelling locations and the beaches are superb for relaxation. The staff at Bird Island Lodge can advise on the best and safest areas to swim. Deep-sea fishing is particularly popular. The only hotel on Bird Island is Bird Island Lodge, with comfortable and specious bungalows by the sea. Bird Island is also the home of the giant male tortoise, Esmeralda, estimated to be over 200 years old, and is probably the largest free ranging tortoise in the world, having appeared in the Guinness Book of Records.
Denis Island is a 30-minute flight by Air Seychelles from Mahé. The vegetation is lush, by Seychelles’ standard, as a result of guano (birds droppings) deposited over the years. It is particularly popular with deep-sea anglers pursuing baracudas, sailfish, dorados and bonitos, which can be caught all the year round. Marlin is caught from October to December. Five world records for dogtooth tuna have been taken here. There are also facilities for less demanding activities, such as swimming, water sports and trips by glass bottom boat.
The minimum stay on Denis Island is three days. Transfer can also be arranged through Helicopter Seychelles.
Notes: Extract from Silhouette, Air Seychelles in-flight magazine, Volume 18, No. 1
Courtesy of Cameraprix Magazines (UK) Limited
Final thought: We trust that some of this information will help you in making the right decision in the choice of your excursions to make your visit memorable.