BulletTravel guide of Seychelles Islands

More as one hundred islands and islets make up Seychelles, yet the total land area is just 175 squad miles! The Seychelles is located "a million miles" away from the "civilized world" and virtually unreachable, but in truth these stunning islands become more accessible to average travelers. The archipelago lies 1,000 miles east off the coast of Africa and 4 degrees south of the Equator.
The population numbers nearly 70,000 peoples made up of French, English, Indian, Chinese and African origin, nine out of ten live on Mahe Island, the largest island with Victoria as capital city and home to an excellent international airport and to a deep-water harbor. Most of hotels are on this island, but still the beaches are not crowded since the coastline boasts 68 beaches and coves on this one island alone!
Conservation is very important to Seychelles, with many of the smaller islands forbidding or restricting travelers and much of the waters have became designated Marine Parks to protect the marine environment. St. Anne Marine National Park, just off the coast of Mahe Island, is one of four marine parks in Seychelles. Apart from enjoying swimming and snorkeling opportunities, travelers can descend there to the deep in a semi-submersible viewer and see the fish without getting wet!

BulletVictoria - the capital city

Victoria, the capital city of Seychelles, nestles between the port and the forested mountain ranges that run down the centre of Mahe Island. "L'Establissement" was founded as a French military base in 1778, but became known as Victoria to honor the new queen when England took the control in 1841. Nowadays it is a cultural melting pot of French, British, African, Chinese, and Indian influences. It's a tiny place and can easily be looked around in one day. The main vacation attractions includes:
The Clock Tower - The country's most famous monument is an ornate silver clock erected in 1903 to celebrate Seychelles' new status as a crown colony. It stands proudly in the central crossroads, surrounded by the colonial style courthouse and Queen Victoria fountain, with the verdant mountains in the background.
The Botanical Gardens - These peaceful small gardens, designed in 1901, contain Mahe's only "Coco de Mer" palm tree (symbol of Seychelles), along with other endemic palms, flowers, and fruit trees. There is also a small giant tortoise park and a rainforest walk.
Victoria Market - Sir Selwyn Clarke Market is the morning hub of Victoria. Upstairs, the brightly painted boutiques are visited by travelers. The best locally crafted items include coconut products, jewels, and silk paintings. Downstairs in the concrete courtyard, stalls sell local foods including chili sauce, whole spices, and tea, as well as fruit and vegetables. There is a large fresh fish market, including many colorful species which aren't normally associated with eating. However, self-catering holiday makers better cross their fingers, because whatever is present depends on if the supply boat has come in. Sometimes there will be a great variety of shockingly expensive products, other times the stalls will be empty apart from a few piles of tiny green mangoes...
Kaz Zanana - "Pineapple House" is a wooden gallery of local art, including work by George Camille, who uses a wide variety of media, including silk painting, watercolor, and collage to produce wonderful scenes depicting everyday Creole life.
Fiennes Esplanade - The stalls on this shady avenue stock the worst of tacky souvenirs, including dyed-pink coral, shells, and shark jaws.
Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - The centre of religious life for most natives is a huge French colonial style church built in 1874, which peers down on the capital from atop a flight of stone steps. Outside is a lovely small garden with a graceful statue of Virgin Mary, in front of the ornately sinister Capuchin seminary built in 1933.
St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral - This modern cathedral was built in 2003, incorporating its 150 year old predecessor. Inside the feel is fresh and contemporary, with plain whitewashed walls, and lovely stained-glass windows depicting dolphins and local fish.

BulletMahe Island

Few travelers spend time on Mahe, but the island is very worth exploring. Culture of Seychelles, a combination of European, African, and Asian influences, has created unique aspects of language, architecture, music, art, and cuisine. Sir Selwyn Clarke Market, located in the tiny capital Victoria, is a great place for holiday makers to discover crafts and local foods, and also to appreciate the difficulties of island life when the supply boat fails to come in.
Seychelles' beaches have been repeatedly voted the world's best beaches, with Mahe's Anse Intendance ranked ninth overall. But with their palm trees and pale golden sands, none of beaches are unattractive. Particularly magnificent are Anse Soleil, the stunning crescent-shaped Port Launay, and the popular Beau Vallon. Snorkeling and scuba-diving in the crystal-clear waters, viewing thousands of species of fish, corals, and invertebrates is a must experience. The unique flora and fauna can be appreciated at the small Botanical Gardens at Mont Fleuri, which were established in 1901 and contain a wide variety of local species of palms, including the world famous "Coco de Mer", fruit trees, and spice plants. There are also resident giant tortoises, fruit bats, and many beautiful bird species.

BulletPraslin, La Digue, Denis Island, and North Island

Praslin is the second largest island, and home to one of the most beautiful beach from Seychelles, Anse Lazio. Situated just 24 miles northeast from Mahe, Praslin should be not missed. The island is scattered with beauty. Praslin is home to the UNESCO World heritage Site "Valle de Mai", which is one of the few places where the famous "Coco-de-mer" grows.
Situated in the heart of Praslin National Park, Valle de Mai is one of the smallest natural UNESCO World Heritage sites. As Seychelles are some of the oldest and most isolated islands in the world, Vallee de Mai has remained a unique remnant of the primeval palm forest. Many plants are endemic here and the area was virgin forest until the 1930s, when the land was bought.
The most famous inhabitant of the Vallee de Mai is a palm tree named "Coco de Mer", which has became the symbol of Seychelles, so its picture is everywhere, including the passport immigration stamps. The unusual palms live for up to 400 years and are surrounded by many local legends. The female and male parts of the plant are shaped rather suggestively, and each palm can only be either male or female, which is an unusual characteristic for plants. The male palms grow to 30m and produce a lengthy reproductive catkin. The female palm grows to 24m and produces a nut that can weigh up to 22Kg and is shaped rather like the lower regions of human female anatomy, leading it to often be referred to as the "love nut". No one is sure how the coco de mer palms are actually pollinated, but the legend goes that in the depths of stormy nights the male uproots and visits the female, and anyone who witnesses this will drop dead!
Other plants which can be found in Vallee de Mai include various screw pines, jackfruit, and breadfruit. Bats are the only mammals native to Seychelles, and fruit bats can be seen here along with a weird hedgehog, geckos, skinks, tree frogs, crabs, and some lovely snails. The very lucky travelers see black parrots as well as bulbuls, blue pigeons, sunbirds, and kestrels.
Entry into the Vallee is free for Seychelles residents, but everyone else will need to pay in foreign exchange $10. At the entrance is a display of a "Coco de Mer" nut, which can be handled. Love nuts can be exported only with an official government license, and a good specimen will set you back $400!
East of Praslin, La Digue is the fourth largest island in the archipelago. Maybe the most romantic of Seychelles islands, La Digue is characterized by the unruly heaps of massive granite boulders tumbling into the sea, tinged pink at dawn, grey at noon, and glowing red in the sunset.
Denis Island is home to a unique hotel; the staff live and work there, creating a perfect location for those seeking total relaxation and tranquility. Each of the 25 individual bungalows are both spacious and beautifully furnished. This bungalows' unique style blends relaxed charm and simplicity with homely comfort.
In comparison, North Island has become home to an exclusive luxury resort blended into the habitat. The flights between islands are scheduled to coordinate with transatlantic flights. Also, boats and ferries weave across the islands, so traveling in Seychelles is not a problem...