Seychelles: cosa fare e vedere

The Seychelles lie north-east of Madagascar, and the inner islands are granite rather than coral, which gives their beaches boulder-strewn coves. Victoria, on Mahé, is a tiny capital with a market, a clock tower and a botanical garden that keeps giant tortoises. Beau Vallon, on Mahé's north-west coast, is a broad bay with a long sweep of sand.

Praslin, a ferry ride away, has the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO palm forest where the coco de mer, the world's largest seed, grows, and the long beach of Anse Volbert on the north coast. La Digue is a slow island of bicycles and ox carts, with the granite-framed beach of Anse Source d'Argent.

Creole cooking mixes African, Indian, Chinese and French influences, with grilled fish, octopus or fish curries, breadfruit and coconut sauces. The trade winds blow from the south-east from May to October, making it cooler and drier, while the north-west monsoon from December to March is warmer and wetter.