About Seychelles. Seychelles hotels, campings in country, currency.

Officially Republic of Seychelles island republic in the western Indian Ocean, consisting of about 115 islands, some 1,500 km east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius and Reunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest, and the Suvadives of the Maldives to the northeast.

The major islands of Seychelles are located about 1,000 miles east of Kenya.

The first recorded sighting of the Seychelles was by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1756, French planters claimed Mahe and seven other islands for France. The islands, until then known as the Amirantes, were re-named in honour of the French king’s accountant, Vicomte Moreau de Sechelles.

The capital and only urban center and port is Victoria, located on the largest island, Mahe, where about 90% of the population lives.

This isolated island paradise offers fine beaches, turquoise seas and warm weather. As a result of their extraordinary, isolated history, the Seychelles are also rich in rare plants which flourish nowhere else on the planet. No less than 81 species are unique survivors from the luxuriant tropical forests that covered the islands until humanity's belated arrival two centuries ago.

The Seychelles are also a major attraction for birdwatchers. Millions of terns nest on the islands - among them that most beautiful of seabirds, the fairy tern. Up to two million sooty terns nest on Bird Island, and on Aride can be found the world's largest colonies of lesser noddies, roseate terns and other tropical birds.