Seychelles National Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens were laid out from 1901 on a hillside at the edge of Victoria and hold around six hectares of planting: a stand of mature coco de mer palms, the species that grows naturally only on Praslin and Curieuse, an orchid house, spice trees and a pen of Aldabra giant tortoises that visitors can feed. Fruit bats hang in the trees through the day and are easy to see here.

History

The garden was founded in 1901 by the Mauritian agronomist Paul Evenor Rivalz Dupont, then Director of Agricultural Services, as an agricultural station (Wikipedia, National Botanical Garden of Seychelles).

What's there

• The coco de mer palms - a mature stand of the palm found naturally on two islands only.
• The giant tortoises - the Aldabra animals in the pen, fed by visitors.
• The fruit bats - the colony hanging in the trees through the day.
• The orchid house - the collection under glass within the gardens.

When to go

Year round; mornings are cooler and better for the bats. The gardens keep daytime hours. Rain is frequent at any season.

Good to know

The gardens are small and an hour covers them. Labelling is inconsistent. Feeding the tortoises is an added charge and the animals are heavily handled.

Nearby

Victoria's market is north, and La Plaine St André is south.

Key facts