Anse Major: Nature Trail with a Beach Destination

The Anse Major Trail in the Bel Ombre district leads through lush jungle in the national park and ends at Anse Major beach. Known as the Anse Major Nature Trail, it is considered the only nature trail that ends at a beach. This combination of a national park route and a beach as its endpoint gives the trail its distinctive character.

The walk takes about 45 minutes and is considered easy. For planning purposes, you can treat this time estimate as applying to the walk itself; if you also plan to spend time at the beach, allow extra time. Check current access before your visit.

The trail also has a historical dimension: in the past, it was an important site for the production of cultivated vanilla, cinnamon oil, copra, citrus fruits, and patchouli. This makes it possible to view the place from two perspectives—as a route through the national park to the beach and as the setting for a former production history. Those interested in a place’s former use as well as its landscape will find another facet of Bel Ombre here.

More Nature and History Across the Seychelles

The wider destination of the Seychelles also offers nature and history at other clearly identified locations. On Curieuse, a raised boardwalk runs through the swamp and provides access to the mangrove habitat even at high tide. The mangrove swamp borders Baie Laraie. Curieuse was also used for almost a hundred years as a quarantine site for people with leprosy—a very different historical perspective from the former production at the Anse Major Trail.

On La Digue, the Veuve Special Reserve covers 21 hectares and forms part of a 200-hectare plateau on the western side of the island. Staff answer questions and help visitors find the birds. Those interested in birds will find practical guidance there alongside the landscape.

Moyenne Island, in Ste. Anne Marine National Park, is home to the remains of former settlers’ houses, pirate graves, and a small thatched chapel. On Praslin, Vallée de Mai covers 19.5 hectares and is one of the smallest natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. It is also the only area in the Seychelles where all six species occur together.

Aldabra represents a different scale: it is the largest island in the Seychelles. The atoll measures 35 by 15 kilometres and covers around 155 square kilometres of land; the protected area totals 2,559 square kilometres, including the lagoon as well as land and marine protected areas. The two area figures refer to different boundaries. Aldabra was inscribed as a UNESCO Marine World Heritage Site in 1982.

Access methods also differ across the Seychelles destination: the marine parks are accessible by boat, while Port-Launay can also be reached on foot.

Discover more destinations: Bel Ombre, Port Glaud, Les Mamelles, Takamaka, Outer Islands, Saint Louis, Cascade, Mont Buxton.

Go to the main travel overview: Seychelles.