Sights of Victoria and Mahé
 With
very few exceptions, all visitors to the Seychelles will pass
through Mahé, even if only to land and take off at
the international airport. Victoria, the charmingly low-key
capital, is the starting point for most excursions, and a
destination in itself.
Apart from numerous idyllic beaches, Mahé's numerous
attractions include many sites of historic interest, some
stunning viewpoints, and studios belonging to sculptors and
painters who have fallen for the Seychelles's charms, and
settled down here to let their art imitate the life around
them. Hikers and bikers can roam free on the island's trails,
and the roads are easily navigable by car; it's very hard
to get lost.
Most of Victoria's shops and main facilities are set around
the distinctive clock tower (Lorloz, in Creole) which
was built in 1903 to commemorate the Seychelles becoming a
crown colony in its own right, separate from Mauritius. A
replica of Little Ben, which marks the entrance to London's
Victoria Station, it initially stood on the waterfront but,
thanks to extensive land reclamation, is now some way inland.
Another colonial memento, the Sir Percy Selwyn Clarke
Market, named for a popular post-war governor, is a daily
hotchpotch of fresh food and flowers, and an excellent spot
to pick up some souvenir spices.
Victoria's two imposing cathedrals act as a reminder
of its Anglo-French heritage. Construction on the Roman Catholic
Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, on Olivier
Maradan Street, started in 1851, and it was renovated in 1995
when the Seychellois sculptor, Egbert Marday, fashioned the
tabernacle and the carved doors. The Anglican cathedral, St
Paul's, on Revolution Avenue, was originally consecrated in
1859, but completely rebuilt in 2004.
 Both
the Seychelles Natural History Museum (Independence
Avenue) and the National Museum of History (Francis
Rachel Street) make for a good half day's exploration. The
splendid State House, which dates from 1913, is regrettably
not open to the general public as it used as the offices of
the President.
Apart from signing up for an organised tour, the best way
to get about Mahé is by hired car, although the public
bus service is both extensive and reliable. The past century
has given nature plenty of time to improve on Frenchman Rivaltz
Dupont's original design for the Botanical Gardens.
They lie just to the south of Victoria, and include many plants
from outside the Seychelles, as well as a pen housing giant
tortoises.
In nearby Bel Air, the cemetery is the oldest historic
site in Seychelles, and was opened soon after the establishment
of the French settlement in the late 18th century. The cemetery's
tombs, vaults and shrines contain the remains of some of the
islands' most famous personalities, such as corsair Jean-Francois
Hodoul, the nine-foot giant Charles Dorothée Savy -
who was poisoned at the age of 14 by neighbours fearful of
his height - and the mysterious Pierre-Louis Poiret, claimed
by some to be the son of Louis XVI, who fled the French Revolution
and took refuge in the Seychelles.
One of the island's most dramatic thoroughfares runs roughly
south from Victoria, zig-zagging its way to Port Glaud. A
little over half way along, Mission Lodge - once the site
of a school for the children of liberated slaves - is in ruins
now but affords the most magnificent views down to the coast
and beyond.
There are similar panoramas to be enjoyed from the Tea
Factory, a short way down the road, and visitors can also
take a stroll around the tea plantation and sample its wares,
which include beverages flavoured with vanilla or citronelle
(lemon grass).
Mahé's second great drive runs between the two splendid
beaches of Grande Anse and Anse Royale. This follows
the coast for much of the way, but it's worth pausing at two
adjacent nature walks, the Vacoa Trail and the Mangrove Board
Walk. Neither takes much more than half an hour to explore
and both are excellent opportunities to observe the island's
wildlife in its natural habitat. Further on, nearing Anse
à la Mouche, palm trees at the side of the road
give way to granite boulders perched precariously atop each
other, including one which is nicknamed Pig Rock for
all too obvious reasons.
A minor detour to Santa Maria leads to the gallery
and studio of former advertising executive Tom Bowers, who
was seduced by the beauty of the Seychelles and settled down
on Mahé to devote himself to sculpture. Most of his
works are of naked Seychellois, and some are exhibited in
the archipelago's public buildings.
Another celebrated artist, Michael Adams, lives and works
nearby at Anse aux Poules Bleues, where - inspired
by his surroundings - he paints mainly jungle scenes in vivid
colours with a wealth of detail. Further on, at Baie Lazare,
the Val de Mer Art Gallery showcases the work of other local
artists, in particular the work of abstract painter Gerard
Devoud.
Just before Anse Royale, the Jardin du Roi Spice Garden
was first planted by French settlers in the 18th century,
and the original cinnamon trees have since spread all over
the island. The garden now encompasses long rows of vanilla
vines, citronelle, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and other spices,
as well as medicinal and endemic plants. One of the old homesteads
has been turned into a "crêperie", and visitors
can watch cinnamon quills being rolled or try their hands
at pressing sugar cane, as well as stroll around the estate
and feast on the view from its mountaintop.
The roads around northern Mahé are not quite as attractive
as elsewhere, but still worth the trip. Slightly north of
Victoria, La Bastille was originally a private home
belonging to the Pillieron family, which has since passed
into government hands and now houses the national heritage
division of the Ministry of The Arts, Culture and Sports.
A short distance on, a sculpture set in the middle of a roundabout
bears the the mildly ironic nickname of Twa Zwazo,
or Three Birds; it represents the three cultures of
the Seychelles - Africa, Europe and Asia. The other notable
sculpture in the area is Zonm Lib, the Liberation Monument,
a robust masculine figure with both arms raised high, its
clenched fists freed from chains, which was unveiled in 1978.
It's not often realised that fully one fifth of Mahé
is a national reserve. The Morne Seychellois Park is
the largest in Seychelles and was created in 1979. It covers
an area of 3,045 hectares, and is criss-crossed by a dozen
different trails that can be explored on half- or full-day
excursions.
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