Adventure World

Seychelles

The Seychelles Archipelago occupies 400,000 sq km of the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar and contains 115 islands and islets. These fall into two groups of markedly different appearance, stemming from their distinct geologies.

Top Highlights

Granitic: A dense cluster of 42 islands, unique in being the only mid-ocean group in the world with a granite rock formation. Their lush green vegetation is tropical in character.

Coralline: Isolated coral outcrops speckling a vast area of the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the granitic group. They rise only a few feet above sea level but are covered with rich and dense vegetation. Aldabra, the largest atoll in the world, contains one-third of all Seychellois land and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site.

Mahe: Surrounded by coral reefs, this is the largest of the islands, and houses the international airport, the port and capital, Victoria.

Praslin: The second-largest island is two to three hours by boat or 15 minutes by air from Mahe. It is famous for the Vallée de Mai, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which contains the double-nutted coco-de-mer palm.

Victoria, on the island of Mahé, is one of the smallest capital cities in the world, and the only major port in the Seychelles. It's also the only town - every other settlement is a village. The courthouse and main post office in the centre of town have been untouched since colonial time. The streets emanating from the centre have been rebuilt over the past 20 years, giving the town a clean and modern look. There are a few old houses and shops in the city centre, but it's unfortunately barely enough to give the town any character.

Mahe Beaches: Beau Vallon is one of the largest beaches in the Seychelles. The sand is good, clean and relatively free of rocks. The waves can sometimes be large, as there's a big break in the reef. There are platforms in the ocean that you can swim out to, and the local resort lets non-residents use its beach lounges and bar. Beau Vallon is the best location for activities and watersports including dive and sport centres situated along this 3km beach. There are also many restaurants here offering a wide variety of cuisine from typical Creole to Italian, French, Indian, Chinese and Japanese.

Aldabra Atoll: Aldabra is one of the world's largest coral atolls, stretching some 22km east to west and enclosing a huge tidal lagoon, which is sometimes home to tiger sharks and manta rays. Aldabra is the original habitat of the giant land tortoise. There are about 200,000 of the tortoises on the atoll, as well as thousands of seabirds, including the white-throated rail, the sole remaining species of flightless bird in the Indian Ocean. The only people who live on Aldabra are scientists, and they're only there three months of the year.

Anse Lazio: The best beach on Praslin - in fact, one of the best in the country - is Anse Lazio, in the far north of the island. The beach has glorious white, soft sand, a few rounded granite boulders and a lively line-up of waves. The water is a magical turquoise colour. There's also a sheltered area with great snorkelling at the end of the beach. There's even a terrific restaurant at the end of the beach road. The beaches east of Lazio are protected by a reef, which makes the water like a giant bath - it's shallow, warm and safe, and there's some nice snorkelling.

Ste Anne Marine National Park: There are six islands within this park, which is a short distance from Victoria. The snorkelling is superb. Moyenne is probably the best island to visit, although you can only get there on a tour. The island is known for its buried treasures and ghosts, and you can have a look at the House of Dogs, built at the turn of the century as a home for stray dogs.

Vallee de Mai: Vallée de Mai has the Seychelles' greatest concentration of coco de mer palms - almost 4000 of them. This valley's prehistoric forest is World Heritage listed and the very sight of sunlight filtering through their fronds will make you go all poetic. You'll see wild pineapple, wild coffee, allspice bushes and the Seychelles black parrot, if you're lucky.

Fact Sheet

• Country Dialling Code: + 248
• When to Go: The seasons in the Seychelles are defined by the trade winds. These bring warmer, wetter airstreams from the northwest from October to April. From May to September the southeast trades usher in cooler, drier weather but the winds whip up the waves and you’ll want to find protected beaches.
• Food & Water: Seychellois Creole cuisine is influenced by African, Chinese, English, French and Indian traditions. The careful blending of spices is a major feature and much use is made of coconut milk and breadfruit. Local specialities include kat-kat banane, coconut curries, chatini requin, bourgeois grillé, soupe de tectec, bouillon bréde, chauve-souris (fruitbat), cari bernique, salade de palmiste (made from the ‘heart’ of the coconut palm and sometimes known as ‘millionaire’s salad’) and la daube (made from breadfruit, yams, cassavas and bananas).
• Most restaurants offer a few items of what is termed ‘international’ cuisine, generally with a bias towards preparations of fresh fish and shellfish, as well as the Creole delicacies mentioned above. There are Italian and Chinese restaurants on Mahé. Some of the main hotels have bakeries and home-baked bread is also a feature of some of the small guest houses and lodges.
• Currency: Seychelles Rupee
• Tipping: Tips in restaurants, hotels, to taxi drivers, porters and so on are usually already included, as 5 to 10 per cent of the bill or fare.
• Language: Creole, English and French
• Email: There are a few internet cafes in Mahe and one in Pralin and prices range from 2-3 Euros for 15 minutes.
• Electricity: 240 volts AC, 50Hz. British three-pin plugs are in use; travel adaptor recommended.
• Shopping Hints: Local handicrafts include work with textiles (such as batik), fibres (such as basketwares, table-mats and hats) and wood (such as traditional furniture, ornaments and model boats). Special souvenirs might include jewellery made from green snail shells. Tea-growing and manufacturing in the Seychelles is done on a small scale. Local tea can be bought in the shops or when visiting the tea factory on Mahe, where many blends of tea may be sampled at the Tea Tavern.