Seychelles is a 115-island country off the Eastern coast of Africa that, for most of history, has been uninhabited. There's more to it than meets the eye.
Here are some random facts you may not have known about this vacation destination.
Victoria, the capital city of Seychelles on the island of Mahé, is one of the smallest capital cities in the world. You can explore the whole city, on foot, in under a day. The population of this city is around 26,000 - a quarter of the population of the whole country!
The coco de mer (or sea coconut), native to Seychelle’s islands, produces the heaviest and largest seed in the world - around 15kg (33 lbs)!
Pirates used to use Mahé as a hideout, and it is rumored that Olivier Levasseur, a famous French pirate, left treasure worth over $160,000 (today it’s valued at around $250 million!) on the island.
The bare-legged scops owl, a bird so rare it was thought to have gone extinct until it was rediscovered in 1959, can only be found in the Morne Seychelles National Park on Mahé.
Seychelles is so devoted to conserving nature that 47.06% of its land is protected. In fact, only three of the islands out of 115 have any significant permanent population.
Seychelles citizens are mostly of African, French, Indian, and Chinese descent, which factors heavily into their cuisine. Talk about diversity!
Seychelles is named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV’s Minister of Finance.
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