#8 Mahé Island Seychelles
The Mahé coral reefs are, definitely, one of the most important attractions of the Seychelles. 27 km long and 8 km wide, the granitic island of Mahé is the largest and most populous in the entire archipelago. Well-known for its beautiful beaches and lagoons, the island is also surrounded by various reefs, growing on the Seychelles Bank, a large area (31 000 km2) of shallow waters, with an average depth of 44-65 m. Due to the local underwater topography and varying wind and water current direction, the reefs around Mahé are not uniform. The eastern side of the island features relatively continuous coral barriers, while, in the West, only some narrow bays have reefs. Residence to a number of marine parks, Mahe boasts the chance to dive with Moray eels, bottle nose dolphins, Whale sharks, lobsters, and hawksbill turtles. The Ste Anne Marine National Park, found 5 kilometers in the capital Victoria, is among the prime tourist places in the Indian Ocean for scuba diving.
Mahé coral reefs and surrounding areas host an impressive biodiversity. Laminaria algae dominate the underwater vegetation, while supralittoral areas are frequently colonized by unique, salt-loving species, like Ipomoea, Scaevola, or Calophyllum. Cymodocea, Thalassia, and Syringodium form vast seagrass beds. As for the animal population, the reefs are extremely rich in mollusks, with high numbers of both bivalves Atactodea, Codakia, Donax, Gafrarium, Psammotea, Quidnipagus, Tellinella) and gastropods (Conus, Cypraea, Triphora, Trochus, Turbo). Also, lots of sponges and sea stars and sea urchins thrive on the sea bottom. Lobsters, Uca fiddler crabs, Ocypode and Coenobita crabs are among the most frequent crustaceans.
There Is no uncertainty that Mahe is residence to some breathtakingly lovely shores. In the south of the isle, Anse a la Mouche features a few miles of white-sand gently shelving to the ocean. The sand at Anse Lazare looks impossibly delicate and at Anse Takamaka there is a brilliant small eatery under palm fronds at one end-of the shore. However, these are to identify only a few.
Yes, shells and crustaceans are, definitely attractive, but, the most, tourists love swimming and diving along with bottlenose dolphins, whale sharks and hawksbill turtles. There are several marine parks in the area around Mahé, the largest being the Sainte Anne Marine National Park, which is located at just 5 km from Victoria, the country’s capital. Tourism is very intense in the area, with all its positive and negative effects on the environment. Scuba diving among whale sharks and moray eels is, definitely, attractive to many people, making Mahé coral reefs some of the most popular in the world.
