SEYCHELLES ISLANDS

Wondering where you can spend your perfect summer vacation of 2015? Go to places you have never been before and experience paradise on earth.

OUR FIRST SUGGESTION IS SEYCHELLES ISLAND

Close your eyes. And just imagine. You're lazing on a talcum-powder beach lapped by topaz waters and backed by lush hills and big glacis boulders. Brochure material? No, just routine in the Seychelles. With such a dreamlike setting, the Seychelles is unsurprisingly a choice place for newlyweds. But for those looking for more than a suntan or romance, this archipelago offers a number of high-energy distractions. There are jungle and coastal walks, boat excursions, and diving and snorkeling to keep you buzzing. Ecotourism is big – there are marine parks and natural reserves filled with endemic species that are easy to approach.

The Seychelles is more affordable than you think. On top of ultra-luxurious options, the country has plenty of self-catering facilities and family-run guesthouses that offer local colour. So if you are suffering from visions of tropical paradise, here is your medicine.

The Seychelles 115 granite and coral island extend from between 4 and 10 degrees south of the equator and lie between 480km and 1,600km from the east coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.

Of these 115 island, 41 the Inner Island constitute the oldest mid-oceanic granite island on earth while a further 74 form the 5 groups of low-lying coral atolls and reef islets that are the Outer Islands.

The Seychelles` climate is always warm and the temperature rarely drops below 24 degrees C or rises above 32 degrees C.

It is generally cooler from November to March. The sea is calm and the weather warm and humid. A larger amount of rainfall falls during the months of December to February. It is also fairly cloudy at times during those months. The weather is hottest from December to April. The months of May to October bring drier, cooler weather and livelier seas. 

Much of the Seychelles beauty lies in its natural wildlife untouched for centuries, making the island a sanctuary for many rare and unique plants and birds. There are 81 unique species of plant life, which can only be found within the Seychelles.

The legendary Coco-de-Mer coconut is but one such species. This is the largest coconut in the world that grows only on one island, Praslin, within the prehistoric forest of Vallee de Mai at the heart of the island.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEYCHELLES

The first record of the Seychelles was in 1502, when Portugal`s Vasco da Gama explored the islands, although Arab traders may have visited them much earlier. Later on, during the 16^th century, the islands were frequented and some were even named by the Portuguese. In 1742, the French Governor of Mauritius sent an expedition to the island. A second expedition in 1756 reasserted formal possession by France and gave the island their present name in honor of the French finance minister under King Louis XV, Moreau of Seychelles. In 1794 Britain annexed the Seychelles. For the thirteen years which followed the islands changed hands seven times between the French and the British. In 1811 Seychelles was occupied by the British. In 1814 the Treaty of Paris rendered both Seychelles and Mauritius formally British. A year later this cession was sanctioned and the Seychelles became under the dependence of Mauritius. In 1835 Seychelles saw the abolishment of slavery and 1853 the establishment of the Roman catholic church. In 1888 a separate administrator and executive and administrator councils were established for the Seychelles archipelago. Nine years later, the administrator acquired full powers of a British colonial governor, and on 31 August 1903, Seychelles became a separate British Crown Colony.

Seychelles became a sovereign republic on 29 June 1976. After independence these islands were leased to USA.