Praslin

Praslin is 38 square kilometres of granite and endemic forest, fifteen minutes by air from Mahé and the right base for guests who want depth in a single island rather than the hurried movement between them. It has two things that no other place on earth has: the Vallée de Mai and Anse Lazio. Either one alone would be reason enough to come. Together, they make Praslin the island we return to most often.

The Vallée de Mai is a primary forest of coco-de-mer palms that has been standing since before humans arrived in the Seychelles. The SIF manages it under UNESCO World Heritage protection, and access is via guided walk only — which is the right way, because the wardens know things about the individual palms and the nesting habits of the Seychelles black parrot that no printed guide can tell you. The coco-de-mer, with its double-lobed nut that can weigh 25 kilograms and takes seven years to germinate, is one of the most extraordinary plants in the botanical world. Standing among them in the early morning, before the day-trippers arrive, you understand what a forest looked like before human convenience began to simplify it.

Anse Lazio faces northwest, which means it catches the trade wind during the day and goes glassy at dusk. The reef directly off the beach starts in knee-deep water — one of the only beaches in the Seychelles where you can snorkel without a boat. The Seychelles black parrot occasionally crosses the bay in the early morning, its dark silhouette above the granite. Most guests do not notice. Ours do.

Curieuse, a twenty-minute boat ride north of Praslin, is a national park and a giant tortoise sanctuary. It is also the only other place in the world — apart from the Vallée de Mai — where wild coco-de-mer palms grow. We include it in most Praslin itineraries as a full-day excursion: the walk across the champignon limestone, the tortoise population, lunch with local guides at the ranger station, and the boat back in the late afternoon.