10-night Madagascar And Seychelles Cruise: Natural Treasures Of The Indian Ocean – With Smithsonian Journeys

Victoria on 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 in the country - every other settlement is a village. The courthouse and main post office have been untouched since colonial times, but rebuilt streets emanating from the center give the town a clean and modern look. The Natural History Museum in the center of town houses an eclectic collection with bones of the extinct Seychelles crocodile, giant robber crabs, dried out fish, a deformed piglet in a jar and lots of glassy-eyed stuffed animals. Other displays include the wreckage of a ship which came to grief off the Amiranteds in 1570 and a display of gris gris artefacts. For history of the country's people, visit the National History Museum or the Seychelles People's United Party Museum, which celebrates the history of the party. Victoria's Botanical Gardens are highly recommended for short and shady walks among a variety of native and introduced trees. Within the gardens is a cafeteria, a pen of giant tortoises and an orchid garden.

La Digue is a delightful island oozing with refreshing old world charm. Transportation by bicycles and ox-carts preserves peace and tranquility. For nature lovers, the gigantic granite boulders or the near extinct Black Paradise Flycatcher is reason enough to explore this fascinating island.

Destination Guide

Aride Island is a granitic tropical island and a nature reserve. Aride is located north of Praslin Island in Seychelles, off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is a sanctuary inhabited by rare species of seabirds and reptiles.

The island was claimed by the French in the 1770s and between 1817 and 1829, served as an unofficial leper colony. It was then colonized by the British and later in 1979 declared as a Special Nature Reserve under the Seychelles government. This untouched sanctuary is now managed by the Island Conservation Society that protects and monitors Aride's Flora and Fauna, a long running scientific program to preserve all wildlife population, vegetation, and inhabitants. To protect the island from vermin that hitchhike via large ships, visitors are required to travel to Aride via helicopter or by skipper boat transporting its passengers from the ships stationed away from Aride's shores.

Visitors are welcomed in small groups, touring the conservation center, historical plantation lodge, and the nature trail that leads through the Cadbury memorial to the spectacular view of Aride.

Destination Guide

Curieuse is a small two-mile long island in Seychelles. The island is surrounded by turquoise waters an is home to the Coco-de-mer palm. Wildlife enthusiasts will be interested to know that as part of the Marine Park the island has a population of about 250 Giant Tortoises, brought over from Aldabra in the 1980s, and a breeding scheme has been in place there for several years.

Destination Guide

The Farquhar Group belong to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, lying in the southwest of the island nation, more than 700 kilometres southwest the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. The total land area of all islands in the group is less than 11 km², but the total area of the atolls measures about 370 km².

The holiday resort of Nosy Be has colonial French atmosphere galore. Nearby is the island of Nosy Komba and its free-spirited lemurs.

Destination Guide