Praslin: pirates, palm trees and profoundly beautiful beaches
Our Praslin holidays open up a landscape of such exquisite natural beauty that when General Charles Gordon landed here in the 19th-century, he wondered if he might have discovered the Garden of Eden.
The second-largest island in the Seychelles is easily reached from Mahé, and is one of the most popular visitor destinations in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The stunning Vallee de Mai nature reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Home to no fewer than six species of endemic palms including the coco de mer, which produces the world’s largest and heaviest seed. The reserve also provides a habitat for the rare Seychelles black parrot.
The island makes an excellent base for day-trips by boat to explore neighbouring islands. But, don’t forget to dig a little deeper into Praslin itself. Between bouts of sunbathing and swimming in the warm crystal-clear sea, you can also try digging for buried treasure. That’s because, in centuries past, Praslin’s Côte d'Or was a well-known haunt of pirates. Clearly they had good taste – the beaches here are regularly voted some of the finest in the world.