Travel Guide Desroches

Are there rocks in Desroches? Not a single one, but coconut trees at will! Seen from the sky, the island appears as a floating coconut grove. The immaculate whiteness of its sand belt further enhances the brilliance of this green patch on the blue of the ocean. Here we are, 3 m above the sea, on a capital island, the main island of the Amirantes coral group, some 240 km southwest of Mahé. Undoubtedly discovered by Arab sailors as early as the 11th century, then rediscovered in 1502 by Vasco de Gama, who gave them his title of admiral (Ilhas do Amirante), there are 24 of them, all coral, i.e. flat. The most important are, from north to south, African Banks, Remire, D'Arros, Desroches, Poivre, Étoile, Boudeuse, Marie-Louise and Desnœufs. Apart from the latter, which is completely bald and famous for its bird eggs, all of them were copra islands, their other natural riches (guano, fish and sea turtles) having also been exploited for a long time. Having become the tourist ambassador of the Amirantes over the last twenty years or so, Desroches takes her name from a captain who was part of the Mahé de La Bourdonnais expedition, before becoming the French governor of the Ile de France from 1767 to 1772. The island is 6 km long and only one km wide, yet there are about ten kilometres of trails that run through the island. Today, the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, which opened its doors in March 2018, is the only option to pack your bags.Desroches also offers a breathtaking spectacle for diving enthusiasts. The aptly named Aquarium spot, for example, delights snorkeling enthusiasts with clown and parrot fish. But for even more variety (900 species of fish, nearly 115 species of coral), head for 14 scuba diving sites where, between 12 and 32 m, from cirques to canyons and from caves to tunnels, you will come across manta rays, eagle rays, turtles, puffer fish, napoleons, barracudas and all sorts of sharks such as tiger sharks, white-tip sharks and blacktip sharks, nurse sharks, grey sharks... World famous spots, whether it is the obscure Big Cave, reserved for experienced divers with an immediate descent to about 18 m, Airport Reef, a paradise for photographers in search of macro life with a wall lined with beautiful soft corals, the Secret Passage tunnel which will allow you to observe rays, groupers, soldier fish, schools of snappers..