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Seychelles

The coco de mer, the heaviest seed of any plant, grows wild in two valleys and nowhere else.

Western Indian OceanCapital: Victoria

LuxuryRomanceEco ConsciousDiving Snorkeling

A coco de mer nut can weigh around 25 kilograms, the largest seed produced by any plant, and the palm grows wild only on Praslin and neighbouring Curieuse. Its stronghold, the Vallée de Mai, has been on the UNESCO list since 1983; the nuts are numbered and sold with export permits, because the alternative is that they disappear.

The inner islands are geologically odd as well — granite, not coral or lava. They are pieces of the old Gondwana continent left behind when India moved north, which is why beaches such as Anse Source d'Argent are stacked with rounded boulders instead of backed by a volcano. The outer atoll of Aldabra, a separate UNESCO site, holds around 100,000 giant tortoises.

Quick facts

Currency

SCR

Seychellois rupee

Language

English

+ French

Power

—

Driving

Left

UK-style

Airport

SEZ

Seychelles International

Emergency

—

Police · Fire

When to go

Monthly breakdown

Storm risk: None

Jan

Rain

Feb

Rain

Mar

Rain

Apr

Best

May

Best

Jun

Best

Jul

Best

Aug

Best

Sep

Best

Oct

Best

Nov

Rain

Dec

Rain

Best monthsRainy season

Major events

Apr

Carnaval International de Victoria

A carnival deliberately built from invited troupes from other carnivals around the world, staged through the small capital over a weekend.

Carnival

Oct

Festival Kreol

A week celebrating Creole language, food and moutya music, held across Mahe, Praslin and La Digue and shared with the other Creole-speaking islands.

Cultural

Nov

Seychelles Ocean Festival

Diving, underwater photography and marine conservation events built around the calmest water of the year between the two monsoons.

Sporting

Hidden gems

Beach

Anse Major

A Mahe beach with no road to it. You either walk the granite coastal trail from Danzil, about an hour each way, or arrive by boat, which keeps the crowds off it.

Nature

Fond Ferdinand

A palm reserve on Praslin with coco de mer growing in the wild, like the Vallee de Mai but far quieter, and the trail climbs to a ridge with a view over Grande Soeur.

Historical

Mission Lodge

The ruins of Venn's Town, a 19th-century school for children freed from slave ships, high in Mahe's mist forest. The viewing platform looks down the whole west coast.

Local food

Ladob

dietary_tags.vegetarian

Plantain, sweet potato or breadfruit simmered in coconut milk with nutmeg and vanilla; served sweet as pudding or savoury with salt fish.

Grilled job fish

Bourgeois or job, both reef snappers, split and grilled over coals with a Creole sauce of onion, tomato and chilli.

Bouyon bred

dietary_tags.vegan

A thin broth of local leaves, garlic and ginger, drunk alongside rice as the everyday counterweight to heavier dishes.

Safety tips

Water-Safety

Beau Vallon and the west-facing beaches get strong rips during the southeast monsoon from May to September. Anse Lazio and Anse Source d'Argent have drowned confident swimmers.

Crime

Petty theft from beaches and parked cars happens on Mahe, particularly at unattended trailheads. Take nothing you would mind losing to a beach where you plan to swim.

Health

The islands sit almost on the equator, so the sun is directly overhead and burns happen faster than most visitors expect. There is very little haze to soften it.