We love to discover the most beautiful sights and photo spots of our destinations on our own. We stayed a total of 6 days on the island of Mahé and therefore had enough time to explore the most beautiful sights with our rental car. And Mahé really has a lot to offer: from dreamy beaches, a small capital to hidden photo spots and beautiful viewpoints.
Table of contents
Mahé Island’s small scale
Mahé is the main island and also the largest island of the Seychelles. It is home to almost 90 of the Population of the Seychelles, with 72,000 people. Mahé is 28 km long and eight km wide and covers an area of 154.7 km2. Just a few kilometres from Mahé are the small islands of Sainte Anne, Ile au Cerf, Ile Longue, Moyenne, Ile Ronde, Ile Séche, Conception, Thérése, and Ile aux Vaches.
The capital Victoria
The capital of the Seychelles is located on the northeast coast of the main island of Mahé and is called Victoria. The city has about 26,000 inhabitants and is thus not only the largest city of the Seychelles, but also the economic and cultural center of the island republic. Since Victoria is relatively manageable and does not have so many sights, you can explore the town on your own with a short walk.
We have summarized the most beautiful photo spots about the capital Victoria in a separate article.
The most beautiful beaches on the island of Mahé
The beaches of the Seychelles are certainly among the most beautiful beaches in the worldwith the turquoise blue water, powder-soft sand and the fascinating granite rocks. What we particularly liked about the Seychelles is the fact that all the beaches here are public, i.e. even if the beaches are located on the grounds of hotels, you can enter them (partly with prior permission). On the island of Mahé there are numerous beaches, some of which we have visited.
You can find out which beaches we liked best on the island of Mahé here.
The Rock Pool (Ros Sodyer)
Sometimes it is not so easy to find hidden spots in touristically high-frequency countries that are extraordinary and that you have to yourself at best. And yet this is possible 🙂 With the Rock Pool (Ros Sodyer) we discovered such a place and came to the attention of it by chance on the Internet when we googled for sights for Mahé. But we didn’t actually find many information about it – Google Pictures only have a handful of photos of them. This, of course, has awakened our curiosity to find and discover this hidden place.
How to get to the Rock Pool and more information can be found here.
The Copolia Trail
In the middle of the Morne Seychellois National Park runs the Copolia Trail, an hour-long hike through the shady rainforest to the 497 m high Copolia, from which you have a great panoramic view of the surroundings.
The 1.4 km long trail starts directly on Sans Soucis Road (see Google Maps). A large information board and a small sign point point the direction. The trail begins with a descent into the valley of the Copolia-Bach. Afterwards, it’s always only uphill – through dense, green rainforest past spice plants, palm trees and one or the other spider web. The trail led us to a large plateau of typical Seychelles granite. From here you have a breathtaking panoramic view of Sainte Anne Marine Park and Victoria, but also the airport of Mahé. With good visibility you can even look as far as Praslin and La Digue.
What was best: Neither during the hike nor on the plateau did we meet other people. We were completely alone all the time 😊 Although the hike is not long from the route, we found it exhausting – especially due to the sweltering weather. It is therefore best to take enough water with you and put on sturdy footwear.
Mission Lodge – The Ruins of Venn’s Town
The ruins of Venns’ Town are located just off Sans Soucis Road in the southwest of Morne Seychellois National Park, about 6 km from Victoria. In the 19th century, Venn’s Town was a boarding school for freed slave children founded by the London Missionary Society, suspended after the abolition of slavery on the island. Today there are still some ruins that remind of history. The site is also home to Mission Lodge – one of Mahé’s most famous viewpoints, which is located at an altitude of about 450 metres. From here you have a spectacular view over Mahé’s west coast, the sparkling sea and the green mountain slopes. In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II is said to have had a tea in the pavilion while enjoying the view.
The Sauzier Waterfall & Port Launay Mangrove Forest
Another nice excursion destination is the Sauzier waterfall, which is located in the northwest of Mahé. There are two different ways to get to the waterfall:
(1) On Port Launay Road, just behind St. Peter and Paul Church, turn right onto the road (see Google Maps). The path leads through a small housing estate, which you have to cross until you get to a gate. You can park your car directly behind the gate on the private grounds. Whether you are walking through the gate or driving, an entrance fee of 50 SCR per person will be charged. The way from the parking lot to the waterfall takes only about 3 to 4 minutes.
(2) Choose the path through the Port Launay Mangrove Forest: If you continue along Port Launay Road, you will reach a mangrove forest, which is already visible from the main road. The car can be left directly on the road, from which a long wooden path leads through the mangrove forest. Afterwards, we follow a trampoline path to the waterfall. We haven’t completely walked the path, so we don’t know for sure whether an entrance fee for the waterfall is required along the way. However, we have read that no admission is required here.
No matter which way you choose, the destination is the beautiful Sauzier waterfall, which plunges into a basin lined with granite rocks and is surrounded by a lush green jungle. You can go swimming normally in the pool. Some locals have even jumped from the rocks on the edge or from a very tall tree into the basin.
The La Misere Viewpoint
There is a beautiful view of Victoria, Eden Island and Sainte Anne Marine Park from La Misere Viewpoint above. At the viewpoint there is a small parking bay as well as an information board about the points that can be seen in the distance.
A boat trip to Sainte Anne Marine Park
Off the coast of Mahé is the Saint Anne Marine National Park and the island of Cerf Island, which we explored as part of a boat trip with J’adore Seychelles. In addition to a snorkeling stop in the Sainte Anne Marine National Park, we also got to know the islands of Long Island, Round Island and Cerf Island on our tour.
A detailed report about our tour with many photos can be found here.
A map with all the sights on the island of Mahé
On the following Google MyMaps map we have mapped all the important sights on the island of Mahé.
Our travelogues from the Seychelles
White dream beaches, crystal clear water, sun and palm trees: the Seychelles are the epitome of an island paradise. For 2 weeks we explored the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and saw the most beautiful sights: From gorgeous beaches, fascinating nature parks to hidden photo spots, animal islanders and beautiful viewpoints.
» Seychelles: Things to know & Travel Tips (Mahé, Praslin & La Digue)» Seychelles: Travel Planning, Flight & Rental Car
» Mahé: Things to know & places of interest
» Mahé: Tropical Hideaway Apartement & Beau Vallon Beach
» Mahé: Victoria – Things to do & beautiful photo spots
» Mahé: The Rock Pool (Ros Sodyer) at Anse Takamaka
» Mahé: Top 10 most beautiful beaches on the island
» Cerf Island: Snorkeling in Sainte Anne Marine Park
» Praslin: Things to know & places of interest on Praslin
» Praslin: Acajou Beach Resort on the Cote d’Or Beach
» Praslin: Fond Ferdinand – Coco de Mer Nature Reserve on Praslin
» Praslin: Vallée de Mai – UNESCO National Park on Praslin
» Praslin: Top 5 most beautiful beaches on the island of Praslin
» Curieuse Island: A trip to the giant tortoises
» Félicité: The luxury resort Six Senses Zil Pasyon
» La Digue: Things to know & Travel Tips from the island of La Digue
» La Digue: Cat Cocos Ferry & La Diguoise Guesthouse
» La Digue: Crystal Water Kayaks – Transparent kayak tours on La Digue
» La Digue: Anse Marron – Hike around the south coast of La Digue
» La Digue: Top 10 – The most beautiful beaches on La Digue
» La Digue: The resort Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie