10 Fun facts about the Seychelles
SMALL WONDER
Victoria, in the Seychelles, is the smallest capital city in the world.
STAR ATTRACTION
North Island, a private island resort, is popular with celebs – George and Amal Clooney and Prince William and Kate Middleton honeymooned here.
PARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS?
The local language, Creole, is an adaptation of 17th Century French combined with words and phrases from Africa and Madagascar.
GOOD REEF
The Aldabra group of islands in the outer islands of the Seychelles is home to the world’s second-largest coral atoll.
HEAVY WEIGHTS
You’ll also find the world’s largest population of giant tortoises, and the largest land crab (the coconut crab) in Aldabra.
COCO POP
The Coco de Mer, endemic to the islands, has the largest, heaviest seeds in the plant kingdom.
BREAK FREE
The Seychelles gained independence from Great Britain on June 29 1976.
ANCIENT LAND
Geologists believe the Seychelles formed around 180 million years ago after the break-up of a supercontinent named Gondwana.
SPECIAL BOND
Author Ian Fleming visited Mahé in 1958 to get inspiration for his book For Your Eyes Only.
PRICE IS RIGHT
A Yorkshireman bought Moyenne island in 1962 for £8,000, and lived there on his own for 50 years until he died aged
6.