Mahé Region Guide

Mahe is the main island of the Seychelles and the one that has everything: the beaches, the mountains, the capital and most of the people.

The beaches are the draw and they deserve it — Anse Intendance, Petite Anse and Anse Major are pale sand between granite boulders worn into smooth, rounded shapes found on almost no other tropical islands, because these are continental granite rather than coral or volcanic rock.

Behind them the island rises to 905 metres at Morne Seychellois, with mist forest, endemic palms and pitcher plants, and walking trails that almost nobody uses.

The small capital at Port Victoria has a market, a clock tower and a genuinely Creole character — African, French, British and South Asian at once.

And everything on Praslin and La Digue is a short boat ride away.

Beaches

Anse Intendance on the south-west, long, wild and with real surf; Petite Anse and Anse Soleil nearby; Anse Major, reached only on foot along a coastal track through granite and takamaka; and Beau Vallon in the north-west, the busy one, with the calmest swimming and the boat operators.

The mountains

Morne Seychellois national park covers a fifth of the island. The Copolia trail climbs through mist forest to a granite dome with pitcher plants growing on it and a view over the capital and the harbour; the Anse Major and Trois Freres trails are longer.

The capital

Small enough to walk in an hour. The Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke market for fish, fruit and spice; the Victoria Clock Tower; the botanical gardens with their giant tortoises and coco de mer palms; and the Hindu temple.

On the water

Diving on granite boulder sites, Sainte Anne marine park by glass-bottomed boat, and big-game or fly fishing.

Day trips

Praslin’s Vallee de Mai and La Digue’s Anse Source d’Argent, both an hour by ferry.

Seychellois culture is Creole in the full sense — a genuine fusion with no single dominant strand.

Origins

The islands were uninhabited until the eighteenth century, so everyone here descends from arrivals: French planters, enslaved East Africans and Malagasy, liberated Africans landed by the British navy, Indian and Chinese traders, and later British administrators. That mixture produced a language, a cuisine and a music that belong to nowhere else.

Creole

Seselwa is the first language of almost everyone and is one of three official languages alongside English and French. It is French-lexicon with African grammar, has an official orthography, and is used in parliament, schools and broadcasting — unusual for a creole and a point of national pride.

Small country

Around 100,000 people across the whole country, most of them on this island. Everyone knows everyone, the pace is unhurried, and social life runs through family and church.

Tourism and fish

The economy is tourism and tuna, and both are visible — the harbour at the capital handles one of the largest tuna transhipment operations in the Indian Ocean.

The Seychelles protects a very large share of its territory, on land and at sea, and the rules are enforced. Reef fish, coral, shells and turtle products must not be taken or bought, and removing sand or coral is an offence.

Coral bleaching has hit these reefs hard in successive warm events. Use reef-safe sunscreen or a rash vest instead, never stand on or touch coral, and keep fins clear of it.

Turtles nest on Mahe’s west coast beaches between October and February. Keep away from nests and tracks, use no lights on the beach at night, and report sightings to the conservation groups rather than approaching.

Water and waste: everything is imported and desalinated water is expensive. Refuse single-use plastic, which the country has banned in several categories.

Buy Seychellois: guesthouses and small restaurants keep money on the island in a way that all-inclusive resorts do not.

April to May and October to November are the best windows: the transitions between the two monsoons, with the calmest seas, the clearest water for diving and the lightest winds.

May to September is the south-east trade wind season — drier, cooler and breezier, with rougher seas and seaweed on the south-east beaches, but excellent for walking and for the north-west coast.

December to March is the north-west monsoon: hotter, more humid and wetter, with heavy but usually short downpours. The south-east coast is calm then.

Diving is best in the calm transition months; whale sharks pass between August and October.

Turtle nesting runs October to February.

There is no bad season, only a shift in which side of the island is sheltered.

What a day costs, by how you travel

Relative cost across the region

The Seychelles has a reputation as a luxury destination and the resorts justify it, but self-catering guesthouses are widespread and legal, the bus costs a few rupees, and the island can be done on a far smaller budget than its image suggests. Imported food and alcohol are expensive whatever you do.