Mahé: the enchanting gateway to the Seychelles
With its picture-perfect beaches and imposing mountainous backdrop, Mahé makes for a suitably dramatic introduction to the Seychelles.
The largest island in the archipelago, Mahé is home to the capital, Victoria, and almost 90 per cent of the Seychelles’ population. A Mahé holiday is often the starting point for island-hopping in the region, but the tranquil nature reserves, sublime beaches and sheltered coves here amply reward those who choose to stay a while and explore.
First settled by the French, before it became a British colony, Mahé is rich in history but also something of a living laboratory. A wealth of rare endemic flora has evolved here over centuries of isolation, including the endangered jellyfish tree and the carnivorous Seychelles pitcher plant.