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Travel Amassive nut hangs precariously from a palm tree, a nut so colossal that you could swap it with elephant legs, or, the trunk of a baobab. A mammoth nut? Yes, in Seychelles, Coco de Mer is gigantic — the largest Coco de Mer, an endemic coconut, weighed — hold your breath — 42 kg! The fruit takes six to seven years to mature; its seed weighs about 18 kg (the world’s largest) and the female flowers are the largest of any palm. Its only natural habitat is the Vallee de Mai (May Valley) Palm Forest in Praslin Island, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Vallee is so pristine that in 1881 British General Charles George Gordon propagated the myth that Vallee de Mai was the Garden of Eden and Coco de Mer the forbidden fruit. This forbidden fruit is expensive too — one coconut costs about 13,000 rupees.
In Seychelles, a chain of 115 granite and coralline islands that sit smug in the Indian Ocean, paradise acquires a new dimension. The beaches are sun-kissed and sugary white, the Red Fody preens its flaming orange plumage, the zebra dove has a turquoise blue kohl around its eyes, the rare Aldabra tortoise throws in a brown intrigue, skinks add a daub of slithery iridescence, the air is redolent with the whiff of cinnamon and the rock formations are so astounding that you’d think the waves were Michelangelo in disguise. From the sky, Seychelles might seem like little squiggles scattered carelessly in the enormous Indian Ocean, but drive around and you’d redefine idyllic beauty. The country is really small. At the last count, Seychelles has less than one-lakh population, of which 90 per cent live in Mahe, the largest island. Of the 115 islands that string to make the archipelago, only four are inhabited — Mahe, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette. However, nothing beats the tininess of Victoria, the capital. Walk into the world’s smallest capital and before you know where to start sight-seeing, it ends. Rather abruptly. You could walk it in 10 minutes and been-there-seen-it-all in another 15. An old church stands like a relic of the colonial age, a Hindu temple shimmers in vibrant colours by the arcade and the weekly market drones with the holler of hawkers and buyers haggling animatedly over red snapper, parrot fish, sprigs of thyme and rolls of cinnamon.
The crown jewel is the Big Ben. The Little Big Ben, actually. It is a tiny silver replica of London’s Vauxhall Clock Tower that was erected in the central roundabout to mark Seychelles’ new status as the Crown Colony. Do spare a look for the nearby traffic light. It is the only traffic light in Seychelles! Seychelles’ capital might be smal, but nature has been generous with its largesse. There is no better place to see the island at its glorious best than in Constance Ephelia which is nestled between Port Launay Marine National Park, Morne Seychelles National Park and Port Launay Mangrove, the first Ramsar Site in Seychelles. Before Seychelles was discovered and people settled in the 1700s, there were mangrove wetlands fringing several areas. Today, Port Launay mangrove is one of the best examples of wetland mangrove. Borrow a kayak from Ephelia Boat House and if you paddle quietly, you can see the sunbird feasting on the nectar of mangrove flowers, crabs crawling in the muddy banks and shorebirds cawing after a meal of fish and worms. Watch out for the unusual mangrove seeds that drop like spears from the parent tree.
After a kayak tour in the mangrove, prep yourself for a traditional Creole meal in Seselwa restaurant — pwason sale (salt fish) chutney with green mango; grilled red snapper; red lentil stew; snake gourd curry; breadfruit or cassava chips or daube, a sweet/salty staple soup. If you can stomach surprises, there is a bat curry. In Seychelles, fruit bat curry is delicacy, often a Sunday lunch special. Fruit bats are diced, marinated overnight in garlic, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and vinegar, then sautéed and slathered in tamarind juice. Four bats are enough to feed three hungry men. Or, if you want to feel spicy, get yourself wrapped in vanilla in Constance Spa, the largest spa village in the Indian Ocean. In the archipelago which has ‘paradise’ as a permanent prefix, stories abound of how Marie Antoinette escaped the guillotine and shacked in a Seychelles island. Of Ian Fleming sticking his toe in the silken sand waiting for an aha! moment for the Bond adventure For Your Eyes Only. Of Prince William and Kate Middleton picking a Robinson Crusoe kinda island for their honeymoon. So many stories, so many legends, so many narratives of an island that — if you believe the myth — was the Garden of Eden.
Fact file Getting there Emirates has regular
Delhi/Mumbai-Dubai-Mahe flights. Where to stay Constance Ephelia in Mahe Island; Lemuria in Praslin Island (Praslin Island is a 15-minute flight from Mahe; boat ride takes 60 minutes). There are many other hotels too. What to see/do: Praslin Island: Visit Vallee de Mai, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Look for Coco de Mer. Spend an evening in Anse Georgette. Dine on a rocky cliff in Lemuria and attend the turtle conservation class. Take the boat to La Digue Island. You can cycle by the coastline. In a beach shack, dig into grilled red snapper topped with traditional Creole sauce.
Globetrotting
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Mahe Island: Do a half-day Victoria tour. On way from Ephelia, stop at the Tea House, or the Station Café. Buy cinnamon and vanilla in the local market. Do not miss Big Ben. Kayak in Port Launay mangrove. Walk the 2-km Ros Lepa trail. Zip in a zipline in Ephelia. 
