Silhouette Island Holidays

Silhouette is the third largest island in the Seychelles, but one of its most secluded. Think of it as a desert island escape, with a side order of luxury. Only 200 inhabitants call it home and most of them work at the island’s only resort hotel, the five-star Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa. That’s about as built-up as it gets, though. In fact, over 90% of the isle is designated as a national park.

The island’s laced with walking trails, which lead up mountains, through palm-filled forests and down to castaway beaches. You can make the three-kilometre hike to Anse Mondon, where the milky sands are lined with cinnamon and palm trees. Or, try the three-hour trip to even more secluded Grand Barbe, passing giant tortoises and fruit bats as you stroll.

It’s not just Silhouette’s forests that are protected, the surrounding waters were made a marine reserve in 1987, too. On a snorkel, you can come face to fin with harmless white-tip sharks, parrotfish and rays. The island’s a hotspot for turtles, too, with over 300 nests found each year. There’s a small research base that’s dedicated to protected them, along with the island’s resident tortoises and bats.