Seychelles guide
Coral and Granite
The Seychelles islands lie spattered across the Indian Ocean as though flicked there by a painter's brush. Each is a drop of green, punctured by grey granite outcrops and rimmed in white sand. The trade winds are soft through the coconut fronds, the frangipani smells sweetly at nightfall when astonishingly dramatic violet and orange sunsets pattern the sky, and at quiet moments in the day the islands' rare birds will dart out of the trees to inspect you. Everything on these unspoilt islands seems friendly, courteous and clean. The land gives generously with coconuts, mangoes, bananas, breadfruit, pineapples, and an equally bountiful sea yields up tuna, snapper, barracuda and kingfish. Copra and cinnamon are the main exports but the islands' tourism is the chief source of income.
The granite outcrops are unique to the Seychelles. Eons ago, India was joined to Africa. The shores receded, the ocean advanced. The Seychelles archipelago, where coral has formed around granite remains, is evidence of this ancient geological change. The main group of islands is granitic but about 60 others are coralline, low-lying and covered with dense vegetation. These include Aldabra, with the world's largest tropical lagoon.
A hundred islands and islets make up the Seychelles, yet the total land area is a mere 454 sq km (175 sq miles). The archipelago lies 1,600 km (1,000 miles) east of Mombasa, 4 degrees south of the equator. The population numbers nearly 77,000 Seychellois, of French, English, Indian, Chinese and African origin. Among themselves, most Seychellois speak Creole, a French patois. Nine out of ten live on Mahe, the largest island, 27 km (17 miles) long and 8 km (5 miles) wide, with Victoria as the capital city. Most of the hotels are on this island, but even so it's far from crowded since the coastline boasts 68 beaches and coves. There's a good international airport on Mahe and an excellent deep-water harbour. The Morne Mountains form a backdrop to the town, a region of threading streams, ferns and moss tempered by smooth boulders.
On the less inhabited islands is an abundance of rare birds and plants, giant tortoises, turtles and spectacular tropical fish. Snorkelling here is usually known as goggling, and "goggle" you will at the brilliant underwater ballets going on in the coral gardens. Most famous of all the Seychelles' rare plant species is the giant, legendary aphrodisiac coco-de-mer palm. This is a gentle world, where the insects are strictly non-poisonous, there are no snakes, and even the fish are unafraid of men. The most explosive sight you'll see is a flamboyant tree in full scarlet bloom, or a bougainvillaea vine pouring over a wall in a cascade of molten purple.
