Suitably Seychelles

When early sailors – who, admittedly, also used to confuse dugong with mermaids – saw coco de mer seeds floating in the sea, they thought they were a woman’s disembodied buttocks. Take into account all the homemade rum they would have been drinking, and you can see why they might have come to this conclusion. These enormous nuts, which traditionally only grew on two islands in the Seychelles, are an example of island giganticism – the same phenomenon that explains giant tortoises and Komodo dragons. See them growing in the wild in Praslin’s Vallee de Mai.

Getting there

Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.

Planes: Air Seychelles (www.airseychelles.com) flies direct to Mahé from London two to three times per week, Air France (www.airfrance.com) flies via Paris, Emirates (www.emirates.com) has regular flights via Dubai and Qatar Airways (www.qatarairways.com) flies via Doha.
Automobiles: It’s worth renting car if you plan to explore Mahé, but it’s also very easy to organise taxis or a driver for the day.

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