Seychelles, an island republic in the western Indian Ocean, is a famous destination for beach lovers and honeymooners. The 115-island archipelago is also a haven for nature lovers and adventure seekers. As a great travel destination during any season due to its warm, tropical climate all year long, Seychelles has earned the nickname, ‘the land of perpetual summer’.
Endowed with beautiful boulder-strewn beaches, virgin jungles, thriving coral reefs, and nature reserves, the coral and granite islands are the paradise every tourist dreams of. Seychelles lie east of Kenya and northeast of Madagascar. The most popular things to do in Seychelles include boat trips around the island, hiking the mountain trails, beach hopping on the pristine beaches, rock climbing, photographing the unique flora and fauna, and relishing the delicious Créole cuisine. Many of the islands and atolls are contained within marine sanctuaries. Besides, those who love water sports can go scuba diving, snorkelling, surfing, and sailing in the azure blue waters, and Seychelles contains the best fishing grounds in the world. Here’s our take on the top places you can try on a holiday at this awesome archipelago.
Best Places to Visit in Seychelles
Praslin Island
Praslin Island, also called Île de Palme, is the second largest of the Seychelles archipelago. Lying northeast of the main island of Mahé, it was named Isle de Palmes by explorer Lazare Picault in 1744, when the island used to be a hideaway by pirates and Arab merchants. In 1768, it was renamed Praslin in honour of French diplomat César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin.
Praslin is known for its beaches such as Anse Lazio, a fine-sand boulder-flanked beach on the northwestern coast, and Cote D’Or, on the northeastern coast, one of the longest stretches of beach. The majority of the island consists of the Praslin National Park, a retreat for the island’s rare, indigenous and endemic plants and birds such as bulbul and the black parrot. Vallée de Mai is a Unesco World Heritage Site within the park, where the endemic coco de mer palm, the most expensive palm tree with double coconut, grows.
La Digue Island
La Digue is the third most populated island of Seychelles, and the fourth-largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. La Digue was named after a ship in the fleet of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, who visited Seychelles in 1768. The island offers a mix of splendid forest and white sand beaches such as Anse Source d’Argent and Grand Anse.
The Veuve Nature Reserve, home to the rare black paradise flycatcher, is one of the best places to visit in Seychelles. Belle Vue or Eagle’s Nest Mountain, which is La Digue’s tallest peak, has a summit more than 300 m above sea level and is ideal for hiking. The diving trips are more interesting with a wide variety of underwater creatures including fish, sharks and rays.
Mahe Island
A trip to Mahe island is not to be missed as it has over 60 beaches, jungles and rainforests. Mahé is the largest island of Seychelles and has the capital city of Victoria. The island was named after Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, a French governor of present-day Mauritius. You can go mountain climbing at Mahé’s tallest peak is Morne Seychello, which is at 905 m, and lies in the Morne Seychellois National Park. Mahé’s forests are enriched with rare endemic plants such as the jellyfish tree, the carnivorous pitcher plant, and a variety of rare orchids. The Seychelles Natural History Museum, the Botanical Gardens and the Codevar Craft Centre, all in Victoria, are certainly the best sites to be visited in Seychelles.
Aldabra Atoll
The Aldabra atoll, comprised of four large coral islands, has the world’s second-largest coral atoll and is one of the top places to visit in Seychelles. The island was named Al Hadra or Al Khadra by Arab seafarers for ‘the atoll’s harsh, sun-baked environment’. Enclosed by a shallow lagoon and surrounded by a coral reef, the atoll is safe from human disturbance due to its isolation. As a result, it has preserved some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world’s largest population of these gentle beasts. It is one of the best Seychelles tourist places that has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site and is a haven for nature lovers and divers.
Curieuse Island
A small granitic island, Curieuse is notable for its russet-coloured earth and coco de mer palms. Originally named ‘Ile Rouge’ due to its red-coloured soil, it was later renamed after the schooner ‘La Curieuse’. It is a national park, where giant Aldabra tortoises roam free and is populated with giant takamaka trees, a large hawksbill turtle rookery and several bird species, such as the rare black parrot found only here and on Praslin.
Cousine Island
Cousine Island is a nature reserve protected under Seychelles law as a Special Reserve to protect the rare warbler and other endemic bird species. It is also the most important nesting site in the entire western Indian Ocean for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle and also the world’s first carbon-neutral nature reserve. If you are a bird lover, make sure you tour the island and watch out for magpie robin, the brush warbler, sunbird, blue pigeon, and the Malagasy turtle dove. The reserve also serves as breeding grounds for lesser noddies, fairy terns, and tropicbirds.
With its natural charm and plenitude of activities, no two islands of Seychelles are the same and every island has its own hidden gems. Make this your next destination and have an unrivalled experience.