Other Inner Islands
Bird
Bird, Seychelles’ most northerly island is 100 km or a 30-minute flight north of Mahé. Bird is surrounded by white beaches and crystal blue waters.
In the early 1970's, Bird turned to tourism, and with several conservation programmes in place, the Bird Island Lodge stands at the forefront of eco-tourism in Seychelles. 24 individual beachfront bungalows offer a ‘back to nature’ experience amid the gardens of an ancient coconut plantation, a bird sanctuary, and a nesting site for turtles.
During the period of the southeast trade winds (May-September), Bird is colonised by more than a million sooty terns that each lay their eggs on their own exclusive square foot of territory. Bird also hosts populations of lesser noddies and fairy terns as well as white-tailed tropic birds, fodies, plovers and wimbrels.
Bird is the home of 'Esmeralda’, the world’s heaviest giant land tortoise living in the wild, weighing in at over 300kg and reputed to be more than 200 years old. Incidentally, 'Esmeralda' is a male.
Situated at the northern edge of the archipelago where the ocean floor plummets to 2000 metres, Bird has also extraordinarily rich marine life and offers great opportunities for snorkelling.
Denis
Denis lies 95km north of Mahé and 45km from Bird Island, making it one of the most northerly of all the Seychelles' islands.
The island was sold to Mason's Travel, one of Seychelles’ first local ground handling operators, in the mid ‘90s.
Denis offers excellent nature walks as well as the facilities of tennis, diving, windsurfing, canoeing and of course sunbathing on its gleaming white beaches and its 5-star 25-chalet lodge is the perfect honeymoon getaway offering seclusion in comfort and with excellent cuisine.
Denis Island is also an ideal base for thrilling deep-sea fishing expeditions.
Frégate
Frégate is situated approximately 55 km from Mahé and is the most easterly of the granitic islands.
Frégate was a popular pirate haunt during the latter part of the 17th century and stories persist of treasure hidden somewhere on its 280 hectares.
The Seychellois magnate Harry Savy purchased the island after World War II, transforming it into a highly profitable venture by growing vegetables, fruit, coffee, vanilla, cinammon and poultry for markets on Mahé. The island sustained a population of some 100 persons, busily engaged in Savy’s several lucrative enterprises.
Featuring only 16 luxurious five-star villas, seven outstanding beaches and some of the rarest flora and fauna on earth, Frégate offers refinement and elegance, breathtaking natural beauty, exquisite cuisine as well as a complete range of water sports and recreational activities.
Frégate has become a favourite hideaway for Hollywood stars, with deluxe villas right on the foreshore to ensure each has a million-dollar sea view.
North Island
North island lies only a few kilometres north of Silhouette and is the smaller of two visible in the distance from the beach at Beau Vallon on Mahé.
Widely regarded as one of Seychelles' most fertile islands, until recently North had been inhabited by smallholders producing vegetables, tending and harvesting the coconut plantations for shipment to Mahé, and engaging in fishing.
In 2003 Wilderness Safaris opened an 11-chalet, five-star resort on the island targeting the luxury eco-tourism market, promising visitors interaction with the island’s biodiversity at the same time offering a high standard of barefoot luxury.
Since the development of the new resort, introduction of native species of Seychelles flora and fauna and the eradication of alien species have been taking place in order to return North Island to its former pristine state (“Noah’s Ark” project).
Silhouette
Silhouette is Seychelles' third largest island, lying 30 km off Mahé's western coast and in close proximity to North Island. Silhouette’s verdant, mountainous profile dominates the view from Mahé’s Beau Vallon beach.
The Arabs used Silhouette as a base for their dhows, probably as early as the 9th century, a fact attested to by the ruins of Arab tombs at Anse Lascars. Silhouette was also home of the notorious pirate, Hodoul.
Protected by the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles, Silhouette remains an untouched, living museum of natural history featuring many unique species of plants and trees.
Silhouette is the only other island apart from Mahé to have a mist forest on its lofty 731m peak, Mont Dauban.
Silhouette’s primitive beauty is ideal for hikers and walkers wishing to penetrate the mysteries of an island .
The exotic, forgotten world of Silhouette represents Seychelles at its pristine best. Its unspoiled beauty has been elegantly complemented by Labriz Silhouette, a new luxurious resort with more than 100 individual units, a spa and five restaurants.
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