The first thing to notice, even before the plane lands, is the colour of the water – an eye-popping electric blue more often seen in a somewhat more lurid variation as children’s ice-pops than the colour of an ocean. In the Seychelles, that impossibly blue hue is real and natural, as are the 10 or so other shades keeping it company in an astonishingly beautiful sea surrounding one of the most alluring destinations in the world.
The second thing to notice is that the exceptional colours in the Seychelles are not unique to the sea, but rather intrinsic to every aspect of life in a country where the flora, fauna, land, sky, food and, most of all, the people, offer more tones than an artist’s palette. Like that palette, it is the harmony of its vivid colours that makes the Seychelles such an irresistible destination for the discerning traveller.
Most people looking for an escapist holiday are satisfied with a tropical island, a beach, and a few sundowners at sunset. These minimal demands are easily met on any number of islands on the planet; it doesn’t really matter much which. But, for astute travellers in search of something more than the minimum daily requirement of sunshine and martinis, the 115 islands of the Republic of Seychelles are a rewarding choice. Most famous for its beaches – often cited among the best in the world – the country is additionally blessed with unusual scenery, luxuriant greenery, brilliantly coloured marine life, and sublime resorts catering to the affluent visitors who venture to the edge of the western Indian Ocean.
What we rarely read about in articles about tropical islands are the people and when we do, they usually go on about some odd custom, curious ritual, or historic tradition that brings a charming touch of anachronism meant to seduce hardworking city-dwellers into thinking relief from their office-bound lives is only a shake of a palm frond away.
In the Seychelles, too, the people are worth writing about; not for a quaint backwardness, but rather for their worldly sophistication, their level of education, their social advancements, and their relative affluence and high standard of living in a region of the world where all of the above are, for the most part, unfortunately absent. Absent instead in the cosmopolitan Seychelles are racism, pretentiousness and natural resources. The Seychellois people, almost all perfectly trilingual in English, French, and the local Kreol, are extremely international, with more than half the country’s small population of 86,000 people holding dual citizenship with such countries as the UK, France, Canada, and Australia.
The Seychelles has few products or natural resources readily available for export, so in the mid-19th Century, it was decided that the role of natural resource would be played by something else – postage stamps – which were a major income generator for the country in its early history, one which brought in enough money to finance many grand-scale social projects.
This year, the Seychelles is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the postal service in the country, which continues to issue highly collectable stamps coveted by philatelists the world over. Some of the most valuable stamps ever printed come from the Seychelles; back when communication was sent by mail rather than SMS, rare Seychelles stamps showing exotic birds and untamed coastlines created a tumult whenever they came onto the international market. Today, the central post office in the capital, Victoria, displays some of the old stamps, though the latest issues are just as appealing to modern-day collectors as the early issues were to their predecessors.
The small country has taken considerable steps in advancing its economy beyond philately. With the advent of jet travel and global tourism, the Seychelles imports consumers keen to spend time – and money – in a peaceful, safe, and hospitable country where the weather, scenery, and security (the Seychelles is one of the safest countries in the world) are nothing like what they have at home. An additional bonus: the Seychelles smartly invites travellers from every country in the world to visit without a visa.
Beyond the sand and sea, the Seychelles’ cultural mix is one of the country’s main attractions. Monocultural backgrounds are nearly nonexistent among the Seychellois, who emphatically redefine the term melting pot. Indian, Arab, Chinese and European influences are found amid the predominance of their African counterparts; a meal may have any number of ingredients reflecting these divergent sources, and so may the person eating it.
Dismiss all preconception about conception; generations of ethnic intermarriage have endowed the Seychelles with a gene pool run wild. It is not at all unusual for the mechanic to have dark brown skin and reddish hair or the blue-eyed grocer to have Chinese heritage. The residual effect is that racism and other forms of intolerance are nonexistent in the Seychelles, since it is quite possible for members of the same family to look strikingly different from each other.
Imported comforts
As the main island and centre of commerce in the Seychelles, Mahé is home to most of the country’s population as well as many of its resorts, although, thanks to the local topography, it is unlikely you will see one from another, thereby enhancing the feeling of privacy.
The new Kempinski Seychelles Resort, set on manicured grounds between a granite Sugar Loaf-like cliff and the pristine waters of Baie Lazare, is a prime example of distinction in accommodation, cuisine, and atmosphere coming together to create an idyll. As is the case throughout the country, culinary offerings at Kempinski are a strong point; from the freshest of fish seasoned Creole-style at Café Lazare to the cuisines of Indian Ocean nations at L’Indochine, no one leaves the table unsatisfied.
Just down the road from Kempinski, Four Seasons Seychelles successfully marries relaxed luxury with refined elegance. Guests enjoy individual villas set treehouse-style on a steep hillside looking over the cliff-lined beach of Petit Anse on the island’s southwest coast. A mere 30 minutes’ drive from the airport, Four Seasons is worlds away from whatever cares and worries were left behind at home. Villas are as spacious as they are chic; bath-not-shower people will be pleased by the villas’ sunken tubs sharing panoramic views with private swimming pools on the other side of the glass.
Four Seasons offers a variety of activities, including diving, wind-surfing, kayaking, aerobics, and yoga with a guru named Guru.
After physical exertion, make up for lost calories by enjoying lunch beachside at Kannel, the resort’s Creole restaurant, or dinner at ZEZ, where fine dining is matched in quality by excellent service from the attentive staff.
More than half the visitors to the Seychelles travel beyond Mahé to explore other islands in the country, mostly to nearby Praslin and La Digue. The former’s reputation for sophistication was further strengthened by last year’s opening of Raffles Praslin. Visitors accustomed to stylish, European city living will enjoy the urbane atmosphere at Raffles, a resort property with a particularly strong emphasis on culinary experiences that would impress even the most jaded of gourmands (and where the potent Praslin Slings look and taste like vanilla velvet).
The resort runs a car service to Anse Lazio, the fabled beach at Praslin’s northwestern tip that is frequently included on lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The hotel can also arrange excursions to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Vallée de Mai, reputed to be the original Garden Of Eden and the origin of the mysterious coco de mer, whose erotically shaped male and female seed pods engendered tales and legends both at home and in faraway lands, where the enormous and weighty female seeds were found washed ashore along beaches edging the Indian Ocean.
Praslin’s sleepy companion, La Digue island, is an easy, 20-minute ferry ride away. La Digue is home to one of the Seychelles’ most famous beaches, Source d’Argent, the apotheosis of boulders-on-beach scenery so named in the days when pirates used the island as a hideaway between plunderings.
For the ultimate Seychelles experience, a stay on a private island is not to be missed. Only 30 minutes’ flying time from Mahé with Air Seychelles, little Denis Island, home to just one boutique resort, satisfies the adventurous spirit without obliging any sacrifice on comforts and pleasures.
Without mobile phone service, intrusions from the outside world are eliminated so that guests can escape from reality and focus on relaxation. Visitors enjoy wonderful meals prepared using fresh produce – meats and dairy products produced right on the island. Don’t miss the coconut chatini, a local speciality prepared to perfection here. Denis Island’s remoteness belies the delivery of high quality accommodation and services, which are all the more impressive given the extra dedication and diligence required for achievement of excellence in splendid isolation.
Back on Mahe, the Seychellois love a good party, and dancing to the irresistibly seductive sega music reaches its crescendo every weekend at Katiolo’s, Mahé’s most popular nightclub, where hips shake until the early morning hours.
With so many cultures sewn into the social fabric, there is no shortage of festivals throughout the year. The biggest is the annual Carnaval International de Victoria, an event that may be small compared to its counterpart in Rio de Janeiro but, like the Seychelles archipelago itself, trumps its diminutive size by adding international appeal and exuberance, inviting participants from across the world to join the party.
The month of October sees another major event, the Festival Kreol, which celebrates the islands’ unique Creole culture with colourful exhibitions and events.
Not that you need a festival to have fun in Seychelles, where every day, gazing at an ice-pop-blue sea is a reason to celebrate.
The Golden Book
Kempinski Seychelles Resort Baie Lazare
Tel: +248 438 6666
www.kempinski.com/seychelles
Four Seasons Seychelles
Tel: +248 439 3000
www.fourseasons.com/seychelles
Raffles Praslin
Tel: +248 429 6000
www.raffles.com/praslin
Denis Island
Tel: +248 428 8963
www.denisisland.com
Seychelles Tourism Board
www.seychelles.travel
