Seychelles, being one of the founding members of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP), has been active in the promotion of different activities for the purpose of being able to enhance the tourism in the country. As a means of increasing the rate of...
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Ste Anne Marine National Park
This marine park consists of 6 islands. It is accessible by boat in 15 to 20 minutes from the coast of Mahé near Victoria. The islands are known for their beaches, luxury resorts and Creole restaurants.
The park is famous for snorkeling, scuba diving, and glass-bottom boat excursions. This area has a rich diversity of marine life in the coral reefs. Most visitors take a day excursion from Mahé. It is also possible to stay overnight on a few of the islands.
At Cerf Island, you can swim, snorkel, or dive along the beautiful reefs, or bask on the uncrowded beaches. It is also a suitable island for an overnight stay.
Privately owned Moyenne Island has nature trails, reconstructed settlers’ homes, pirate graves, a small thatched chapel, and giant tortoises.
Curieuse Island
Curieuse Island is home to giant tortoises, which roam freely around the sandy coves. It is usually a day trip to this island. There is more than 300 Aldabra giant tortoises in the island. There are also unspoiled mangrove forests on the island.
There is a fee for entering the protected part of the island, (about €15). This includes a guide to the tour. The fee goes towards protecting and caring for the plants and animals. This work is carried out by a few park rangers who are the only inhabitants of the island except for the administrator.
Coco de Mer or sea coconut is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in Seychelles. It has become extinct in other parts of the world. The male flowers continue to produce pollen over a ten-year period. The fruit takes 6–7 years to mature and a further two years to germinate.
This Island is accessible by boat from Praslin Island.
The visitor to the island One can follow the guided nature trails, which includes the Baie Laraie to Anse Jose, and the Anse badamier Trail.
Baie Lazare
The beach is interesting. It was named after French explorer Lazare Picault. Some Seychelles locals once discovered some buried pirate treasure.
Valmer Resort and the Kempinski Seychelles resort are two of the many hotels located in this beach. There is a bus stop nearby, and parking is available close to the beach. The beach is good for swimming, snorkeling, and windsurfing.
The neo-Gothic Baie Lazare Church, dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. Its architecture has become a tourist attraction.
Anse Intendance
This is one of Mahé’s best beaches. This is a favorite surfing spot with frequent big swells and wild waves. This beach lacks a protective reef to make swimming safe. Experienced swimmers will have no difficulty. Turtles nest along the shores here.
The beach can be reached by car or bus. There is a bus stop just a few minutes from the sand. Parking spaces are also found near the beach.
Banyan Tree Resort is located on his beach. This resort is almost the only thing in the whole bay, with no other guesthouses or restaurants located nearby, except for a small beach bar, which sells a few snacks and some cold drinks.
A large number of reefs within the inner granitic islands of the archipelago of Seychelles could be entirely lost, unless concerted action is taken soon to control crown of thorns, warns Dr. Udo Englhardt, the expert on on the management of crown of thorns in a presentation of his most recent findings. Dr Udo Englhardt, believes this outbreak of the deadly starfish is due to increasing levels of human development in the Seychelles coupled with rising sea temperatures. Dr. Engelhardt has conducted this research as part of their ‘Mainstreaming Biosecurity’ project organised by the UNDP and Global Environment Facility (GEF) in conjunction with the government of Seychelles. The outbreak which was in the north western areas of Mahé two months ago, has now spread further down the western coastline as the starfish continue to spawn. The starfish can be seen on reefs between five and 25 metres deep and are not commonly found in shallow waters. It preys on strong hard coral polyps and is named crown of thorns as its upper surface is covered with thorn like spikes.
The crown of thorns starfish, one of the largest in the world, occurs at tropical and subtropical latitudes and have been found from the Red sea, across the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. This venomous starfish has been found in Seychelles as early as the 1960s in small numbers and an extensive eradication programme was conducted in 1997. During the 1998-99 El Nino coral bleaching, the crown of thorns died off too. However, they began to re-emerge in 2001-2003 and have now bounced back in alarming numbers. This April, a coral reef survey by Dr Engelhardt found that numbers of Crown of thorns in the reefs were 20 to 30 times greater than sustainable levels. He also found that there were at least three generations present, including a substantial number of juveniles in the under reef strata – a good predictor of future outbreaks reports the Seychelles news agency.
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