Steeped in desert-island allure, the Seychelles archipelago is scattered with drop-dead gorgeous beaches. It’s almost impossible to choose a favourite. Anse Source d’Argent on the island of La Digue, however, is something special. Its backdrop is dramatically architectural. Huge grey granite boulders, as tall as mansions and curvaceous as elephants, frame the scene. Light bounces gently off the sea and the water is as shallow as a paddling pool. Along with Anse Intendance on Mahé and Anse Lazio on Praslin, its supermodel good looks are legendary.
These shores are also models of marine conservation. In September 2020, the Seychelles announced the final details of a new initiative to designate 30 per cent of its waters—a region larger than Germany—as Marine Protected Areas, to help safeguard ocean species, habitats and livelihoods against overfishing and the effects of climate change.
With a name that means ‘silver spring’, the kilometre-long Anse Source d’Argent is particularly envy-inducing. It’s a quintessential paradise, with immaculate coral sand, impossibly blue water and the luxury of solitude—sheer heaven.
Sunrise over Anse Source D’Argent on La Digue Island in the Seychelles (right); Lamb biriyani (top left); Accordion player, Sauti za Busara music festival, Zanzibar, Tanzania (bottom left). Photos by: Getty, Alamy
The Indian Ocean is one of the world’s most colourful culinary melting pots: the air is scented with spices; breakfast tables are laden with ripe, juicy fruit; and chefs work African and Asian ingredients into dishes such as biryani (rice with spices and marinated meat or vegetables), bhuna (curry based on spices fried in oil) and golden breadfruit fritters, fried in gram flour batter. Cooking classes are available in resorts across the region: in the Maldives, for example, luxury eco-resort Constance Moofushi offers kitchen masterclasses on request. constancehotels.com
Also known as the Comoro Islands—Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan—Comoros is among the region’s best-kept secrets. In Moroni, the capital, you may detect hints of the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar in the narrow lanes and carved doors. Wildlife-wise, the islands echo Madagascar, with mongoose lemurs on Anjouan and whales and dolphins offshore. But in many ways, the Comoros is a place apart—and fascinating for it.
Gone but not forgotten, dodos live on as an emblem of Mauritius—they feature in the island’s passport stamp. Poignantly, they’ve also come to symbolise the mass extinction that threatens our planet. For the past 50 years, Mauritius has had a conservation network that’s focused on the nation’s endangered plant and wildlife species. Île aux Aigrettes, a protected islet off the east coast, is one of its gems. mauritian-wildlife.org
Strangely, perhaps, Africa has few safari regions that include Indian Ocean beaches as well as wildlife-rich savannah. Tanzania’s Saadani National Park is one of those rare, magical places. Base yourself at Saadani Safari Lodge and you can spend your days in a four-wheel-drive vehicle searching for herds of elephants. They move between the trees and the Wami River, cooling themselves with slow flaps of their ears.
An elephant on Tanzania’s wildlife-rich savannahs. Photo by: Getty
1. Sauti Za Busara, Tanzania
Zanzibar’s annual live music festival is one of Africa’s best, showcasing local taarab and bongo flava bands alongside African stars from as far afield as Algeria and South Africa. February 11–14, 2021. busaramusic.org
2. Holi, Mauritius
Culturally diverse Mauritius has a packed calendar of festivals. The most colourful of these is Holi, a two-day Hindu celebration involving bonfires, music and the good-humoured showering of friends and neighbours with fistfuls of gulal powder in rainbow hues. March 28–29, 2021. tourism-mauritius.mu
3. Azgo, Mozambique
For five days in May, Maputo’s annual arts festival, Azgo—local slang for ‘let’s go!’—floods the campus of Eduardo Mondlane University with Mozambican and pan-African music, cinema screenings and adventurous art shows. May 19–23, 2021. azgofestival.com
Once found on almost every continent, giant tortoises were hunted to near-extinction during the Age of Exploration (from the 15th to the 17th century). However, in the Seychelles, a late 19th-century ban on their slaughter saved the Indian Ocean’s last tiny population. There are now around 1,50,000 Aldabra tortoises, mostly on the island of Aldabra. This atoll is breathtakingly remote, but if you’re keen to see some huge reptiles lumbering around, there’s a more accessible alternative: Curieuse Island, which can be reached by water taxi from Praslin Island. seychelles.travel
Most of us are familiar with East Africa’s Great Migration, which gallops across Kenya’s Maasai Mara between July and October each year. But have you heard of East Africa’s Marine Migration? At around the same time the wildebeest and zebras are arriving from the Serengeti, humpback whales appear in Kenya’s coastal waters, ready to breed. Some calve in the warm, calm refuge of Watamu Marine National Park. The Watamu Marine Association has been studying them since 2011, and runs a project allowing tourists to add their sightings to its database. watamu.biz
In its medieval heyday, Africa’s Swahili Coast was dotted with prosperous trading posts. Tragically, some of their most magnificent buildings crumbled away after independence, but in Mozambique’s first capital, Ilha (as the locals know it), many mansions have been restored, with appealing guesthouses, galleries and museums popping up on the historic streets.
A youngster cycles through the streets of Stone Town, Island of Mozambique. Photo by: Awl Images
At Tree Tops Jungle Lodge in Sri Lanka, lying in a hammock surrounded by the squawks of wildlife is the perfect way to relax. Deforestation has plagued the coastline, but here, a glorious swathe of jungle has been restored. treetopsjunglelodge.com
Mauritius is awash with European influences, but at Zilwa Attitude hotel, indigenous culture comes first. Kreol proverbs decorate the bedroom walls and staff organise language lessons and visits to locals’ homes. hotels-attitude.com
Nocturnal lemurs peer down at me with a pointed stare. I’m tiptoeing through a patch of ancient Madagascan rainforest, flicking my torchlight through the trees, and tiny lights are beaming steadily back at me: eyeshine. As I approach the closest pair of eyes, details appear: the round, furry face and long, fluffy tail of a mouse lemur.
“Let’s continue,” says Sesen, my guide, who has known this forest since childhood. “It’s best not to dazzle them for long. A snake may be watching.”
In Madagascar, it’s perfectly possible to wander along forest paths at night. In fact, I’d highly recommend it. Elsewhere in the tropics, a nocturnal forest walk can be terrifying, with creepy-crawlies, venomous snakes and dangerous mammals to watch out for. But in Madagascar, no such worries apply—if you’re a human, that is. If you’re a lemur, you need to watch out. Here in Madagascar’s central highlands, mouse lemurs live alongside Malagasy tree boas, non-venomous snakes that can grow to over two metres long. The boas have thermoreceptive pits that allow them to work out exactly where their prey is.
“Don’t worry—I’ve never known our snakes to attack people”, says Sesen, as if reading my mind. Relieved, I tiptoe onwards.
Planning this nocturnal adventure was as simple as waiting for nightfall and following Sesen into the forest. As the darkness deepens, I’m glad to be accompanied by a guide with a calm attitude and a good sense of direction. Everything looks different by torchlight. A panther chameleon wobbling on a twig looks monstrous, and owl screeches sound like screams.
The next morning, I wake from a dream of swimming in the ocean with whales calling all around. As I blink awake, the dream fades, but the sounds remain. Fuzzily, I recognise it. My cabin at Saha Forest Camp overlooks a curtain of trees that’s home to the indri, Madagascar’s largest and most vocal lemur. Lemurs flourished on this island, but illegal activities like mining have whittled away their habitat, leaving their numbers threatened. To have seen—and heard—them in the wild is indeed the stuff of dreams.
A humpback whale (top right) breaches at sunset off the coast of Madagascar; Giant tortoise (top left), Île aux Aigrettes, Mauritius; Sri Lankan leopard on a branch, Yala National Park, Sri Lanka (bottom left); A ring-tailed lemur (bottom right) carries a baby on its back, Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. Photos by: Getty
The steep, volcanic peaks of this island—a French overseas department—are popular with hikers. Below them are fertile slopes, fragrant with vanilla and cloves and lush with banana, papaya and jackfruit trees.
Mombasa is the buzzing centre of Kenya’s coastal party scene. Check out Tapas Cielo bar in the Nyali area, Moonshine beach bar at The Reef Hotel Mombasa and Shots Bar in the Bamburi area. tapascielo.com, reefhotelkenya.com
1. Alphonse Island, The Seychelles
The chalets on private Alphonse Island, in southwestern Seychelles, come with their own bicycles, allowing guests to freely trundle along the palm-fringed paths. Naturalists offer updates on the comings and goings of turtles, and the diving is superb. alphonse-island.com
2. The Rainforest Ecolodge, Sri Lanka
For a wraparound rainforest experience, try a nature walk from The Rainforest Ecolodge. The hotel stands on a tea estate bordering the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sinharaja Forest Reserve—the country’s largest primary rainforest. rainforest-ecolodge.com
3. Mafia Archipelago, Tanzania
Five islands make up Mafia Archipelago. The capital, Kilindoni, is a sandy-laned town surrounded by mangroves and papaya trees. Chole Bay, meanwhile, is one of Tanzania’s top snorkelling destinations, its reefs teeming with clownfish and rays. Stay at Pole Pole, overlooking the bay. polepole.com
Serves: 2
Takes: 30 mins
Ingredients
1 tbsp spring onion, finely chopped (approximately 2 spring onions)
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2.5 cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
150 gms raw king prawns
1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ cut into wedges
1 tsp soy sauce
30 gms plain flour
30 gms cornflour
1 egg, beaten
500 ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Selina Periampillai (inset), a Mauritian chef and author of The Island Kitchen cookbook, serves up her recipe for prawn fritters with a side of lemon wedges. Photo by: Yuki Suguira
Method
1. Mix the spring onion, chilli, ginger, garlic, prawns, lemon juice and soy sauce in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside to marinate for 15 minutes..
2. Combine the plain flour and cornflour in a bowl, then add 30 ml chilled water and the beaten egg and whisk gently.
3. Pour the oil into a deep frying pan and heat until the temperature reaches 180° on a cooking thermometer. Scoop out the prawns from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Dip the prawns into the batter one by one, then deep-fry in the oil for around 2 minutes until lightly browned and crisp.
4. Drain, then immediately serve with the lemon wedges.
The Island Kitchen by Selina Periampillai (Bloomsbury Publishing, Rs2,300) is out now.
The azure waters, coral reefs and luxurious lodges of Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago promise the ultimate island idyll. Ibo Island Lodge, located on the northwest of Ibo Island, comprises three magnificent waterfront mansions and is the perfect base for an island hopping escape, with plenty of opportunities to explore by kayak, dhow and standup paddleboard. iboisland.com
The island of Réunion, 676 kilometres east of Madagascar, is a jumble of jagged, UNESCO World Heritage Site-listed peaks, thrusting up to 10,000 feet into the sky. Among them is Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Steppes Travel offers bespoke hiking and beach holidays that explore La Réunion’s zigzagging trails. Afterwards, maybe head to nearby Mauritius for a well-earned chillout. steppestravel.com
Hell-Bourg, a small village in Réunion. Photo by: Getty
Learn a little Swahili and it will always smooth your path in Kenya. Hotel staff often greet guests with a cheery ‘karibu’ (‘welcome’). The well-known ‘hakuna matata’ (‘no problem’) is a firm favourite too. To break the ice, practise saying ‘habari?’ (‘how are you?’). magicalkenya.com
Hawksbill and green turtle numbers are dwindling. Visitors with four weeks or more to spare can help by working as Marine Conservation Volunteers on North Island in the Seychelles, assisting environmentalists in monitoring turtles and other endangered species as part of a long-running ecosystem restoration project.
Why do sea turtles need protecting?
They’re keystone species. For example, green turtles keep the seagrass beds healthy by grazing on them, and their egg shells and the hatchlings that don’t make it add important nutrients to the ecosystem. By safeguarding the nesting sites of hawksbill and green turtles for two decades, we’ve seen a remarkable increase in turtles nesting here.
What’s the main threat to their survival?
Truthfully, fishing gear and rubbish in the ocean. Turtles can drown if they get caught in debris. To tackle this, North Island is plastic-free. We’ve banned single-use plastic and, every morning, our beach patrols collect rubbish carried by the trade winds and recycle it to ensure it doesn’t re-enter the ocean.
How is ecotourism in the Seychelles aiding marine conservation?
It’s educating people, while raising funds to enable us to do more. The non-profit organisation Wildlife ACT has been an amazing partner. One of the original team, Elliot Mokhobo, fell in love with the flora and fauna of the island and decided to stay on. He’s one of our best-loved guides. wildlifeact.com; north-island.com
Hawksbill turtles on a reef in the Seychelles. Ayyoub Salameh (inset), the general manager of North Island, discusses the island resort’s rehabilitation and conservation efforts. Photo by: Getty
With low-lying islands surrounded by shimmering reefs, the Maldives is a superb place to learn to snorkel and scuba dive, or perhaps advance your skills. For the ultimate indulgence, you can experience the ocean from the comfort of your bed by booking the ultra-exclusive The Muraka, at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. Launched in late 2018, this two-level lagoon suite has a submerged bedroom with huge windows and an arched ceiling of transparent acrylic. It’s like sleeping in a private aquarium. kagimaldives.com
Around 80 per cent of the world’s vanilla pods are grown in Madagascar. With a minimum export price of £280/Rs27,400 per kilo, it’s a treat when hotel housekeepers leave them on your pillow. Sweet and evocative, vanilla is so quintessential an island commodity that Madagascar, Seychelles, Réunion, Mauritius, Comoros and Mayotte chose the name Vanilla Islands for their tourism partnership, which encourages visitors to island-hop. vanilla-islands.org
Mauritius has a wild side. In the south west, a basalt monolith, Le Morne Brabant, acts as a natural throttle, whipping up winds that set hearts racing among the windsurfers and kitesurfers who flock here. One Eye break, to the west, is famously lively and should only be tackled at high tide. For beginners, Le Morne Lagoon is ideal, with resorts such as Lux Le Morne offering lessons. luxresorts.com
Windsurfing in Mauritius. Photo by: Getty
Handmade from wood, with hollow gourd resonators beneath the keys, the marimba is Africa’s xylophone. In Kenya and Tanzania’s laid-back beach resorts, you’ll often hear rippling marimba melodies floating on the breeze. Together with acoustic or electric guitars and wood-and-goatskin drums, they’re a mainstay of the local bands that entertain at hotels and bars. magicalkenya.com; tanzaniatourism.go.tz
Marilyn Monroe would’ve felt perfectly at home on the island of Nosy Be, in northwest Madagascar. It’s one of the world’s biggest producers of ylang-ylang, whose sweet, exotic fragrance adds a tropical frisson to Chanel No 5, Monroe’s favourite perfume. With glamorous resort hotels and direct flights from Rome and Milan with Neos, Nosy Be is popular with beach-loving Italians, and others are catching on, too. neosair.it
Left to right: Vanilla extract for sale at a market in Madagascar; Ylang-ylang flowers growing on the cananga tree, Madagascar; Musician playing the marimba. Photos by: Alamy, Getty
If, after a safari in Tanzania, the ocean is calling, a trip to the pale, palm-fringed beaches of Zanzibar is the answer. As a bonus, Stone Town, the historic capital of Unguja, the main island in the Zanzibar archipelago, is fascinating to explore. For much of the past two millennia, the sheltered bay on Unguja’s western shore was the Indian Ocean’s most treasured harbour. From as early as the first century, merchants from Yemen, Iran and west India were anchoring here to strike deals with the spice, ivory and slave traders based along the Swahili Coast. By the 10th century, Stone Town was beginning to take shape. With Portugal, Oman and Britain taking turns to preside over it between the 16th and 20th centuries, it absorbed influences from all three, as well as from Arabia and India.
Present-day Stone Town is an intriguing jumble of narrow streets and alleys, shaded from the tropical sun by coral stone mansions with heavy wooden doors. Many have vine leaves and flowers carved into their frame, an indication that the house was built for a spice merchant—there’s a good example at Emerson on Hurumzi, a boutique hotel. Other doors feature geometric patterns, tradesmen’s symbols or passages from the Koran. Some are studded with brass spikes, an 18th-century fashion imported from India, where doors were heavily reinforced to withstand charging elephants.
In 2020, Stone Town celebrated the 20th anniversary of its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wander the alleys on foot, and you’ll discover shops and galleries stuffed with African antiques, fabrics and tinga tingas, brightly coloured paintings that are distinctively Tanzanian. Memories of Zanzibar has a large selection, and you can sometimes watch local artists at work at the Cultural Arts Centre. To take in the cityscape over cocktails and lunch, head to the rooftop Tea House at Emerson Spice.
emersononhurumzi.com; emersonspice.com; memories-zanzibar.com
Street vendors in front of a traditional Stone Town doorway selling papaya, oranges, bananas and jack fruit to passersby. Photo by: AKU/Christopher Wilton-Steer
To read and subscribe to our magazine, head to our web forum here or our new National Geographic Traveller India app here.
Hey there! Like what you see (or not)? Tell us what you think at web.editor@natgeotraveller.in.