Seychelles in Brief – The Islands
The Islands
Seychelles’ 115 islands fall into two distinct groups, the granitic Inner Islands that lie within the relatively shallow Seychelles plateau, 4° south of the equator, and the low-lying coralline Outer Islands that lie beyond the plateau up to 10° south of the equator.
The Outer Islands are themselves further divided into five groups, extending in a gleaming arc towards the east coast of Africa: the Amirantes group lying 230km distant from Mahé; the Southern Coral Group; Alphonse Group; Farquhar Group and finally the Aldabra Group, some 1150km from Mahé. There are 43 Inner Islands – 41 granitic and 2 coralline. All 72 Outer Islands are coralline.
Please select from the menu items below for more information about the Inner and/or Outer Islands.
Inner Islands
|
Name |
Population |
Area (hectares) |
Area (sq km) |
|
Mahé |
71456 |
15470 |
154.7 |
|
Praslin |
7103 |
3756 |
37.56 |
|
La Digue |
2104 |
1010 |
10.1 |
|
Silhouette |
136 |
1995 |
19.95 |
|
Anonyme |
9.6 |
0.096 |
|
|
Aride |
68.3 |
0.683 |
|
|
Bird |
37 |
0 |
|
|
Cerf |
127 |
1.27 |
|
|
Chauve Souris (Praslin) |
0.7 |
0.007 |
|
|
Conception |
13 |
60.3 |
0.603 |
|
Cousin |
28.6 |
0.286 |
|
|
Cousine |
25.7 |
0.257 |
|
|
Curieuse |
286 |
2.86 |
|
|
Denis |
78 |
143 |
1.43 |
|
Félicité |
268 |
2.68 |
|
|
Frégate |
208 |
219 |
2.19 |
|
Grand Sœur |
84 |
0.84 |
|
|
Ile Cocos |
1.8 |
0.018 |
|
|
Long |
21.2 |
0.212 |
|
|
Moyenne |
8.9 |
0.089 |
|
|
North |
148 |
201 |
2.01 |
|
Petit Sœur |
34 |
0.34 |
|
|
Round (Mahé) |
1.8 |
0.018 |
|
|
Round (Praslin) |
19.3 |
0.193 |
|
|
St Pierre |
0.5 |
0.005 |
|
|
Ste. Anne |
219 |
2.19 |
Outer Islands
|
Name |
Population |
Area (hectares) |
Area (sq km) |
|
Aldabra Group |
|||
|
Aldabra Atoll |
15380 |
153.8 |
|
|
Assumption |
7 |
1171 |
11.71 |
|
Astove |
661 |
6.61 |
|
|
Cosmoledo Atoll |
509 |
5.09 |
|
|
Alphonse Group |
|||
|
Alphonse |
82 |
174 |
1.74 |
|
Bijoutier |
7.4 |
0.074 |
|
|
St François |
17 |
0.17 |
|
|
Amirantes Group |
|||
|
African Banks |
0 |
30 |
0.3 |
|
Desroches |
19 |
394 |
3.94 |
|
D'Arros |
85 |
150 |
1.5 |
|
Poivre Atoll |
5 |
248 |
2.48 |
|
Remire |
6 |
27 |
0.27 |
|
St. Joseph Atoll |
122 |
1.22 |
|
|
Farquhar Group |
|||
|
Farquhar Atoll |
15 |
799 |
7.99 |
|
Providence Atoll |
6 |
395 |
3.95 |
|
Southern Coral Group |
|||
|
Coëtivy |
252 |
931 |
9.31 |
|
Platte |
3 |
54 |
0.54 |
Climate
It’s always a good time to come to Seychelles as the islands are blessed with a warm tropical climate all year long.
With all but its remotest, uninhabited islands lying well outside the cyclone belt, there are no extremes of weather. In this tropical haven the temperature seldom drops below 24°C or rises above 32°C.
During the north-west trade winds that visit between the months of October and March, the sea is generally calm and the weather warm and humid, with average winds of 8-12 knots
In January and February the islands receive their life-giving rains, rejuvenating the rivers and streams and teasing the vibrant foliage into rainbows of colour.
Between May and September the south-east trades generally bring drier, cooler weather, and livelier seas - particularly on south-eastern coasts - and winds of 10-20 knots.
The periods of calm between the trades produce fairly warm and wind-free conditions throughout April and also in October. Superb conditions for swimming, snorkeling and especially diving occur during April/May and October/November when the water temperature sometimes reaches 29ºC and visibility is often over 30 metres.
However, as you would expect in such a luxuriant tropical setting, short-lived showers can occur at any time of the year. Visit the Seychelles Meteorological Services website for more detailed weather information at www.pps.gov.sc/meteo