Seychelles

Vallée de Mai

WHS Score 2.82
rate
Votes 30 Average 3.12
Show votes
Votes for Vallée de Mai

1.5

  • Dorejd
  • Mikko

2.0

  • Adrian Turtschi
  • Eric PK
  • Philipp Leu

2.5

  • Daniel C-Hazard
  • Solivagant

3.0

  • Afshin Iranpour
  • BenReeve
  • Clyde
  • George Gdanski
  • GZ
  • Hanming
  • Jeffrey Chai Ran
  • Martina Rúčková
  • Mihai Dascalu
  • Walter

3.5

  • Alexander Lehmann
  • cumulus
  • GerhardM
  • Patrik_globe
  • Sophie
  • voyager

4.0

  • Ivan Rucek
  • shoaibmnagi
  • Simonh
  • subhayan_svnit
  • Vernon Prieto
  • Zoë Sheng

4.5

  • João Aender

The Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve protects a scenic palm forest that is dominated by the endemic coco de mer.

The coco de mer has the largest seeds of any plant in the world. Also unique to the Reserve is its wildlife, including the rare Seychelles Black Parrot which is restricted to Praslin Island. The forest is relatively pristine and has remained largely unchanged since Prehistory. Five other species of native palms can be found there as well.

Community Perspective: “The rather anatomically correct male and female Coco de Mer palms are the real stars of the show” according to Ben, while Solivagant found it “magically primeval – cool and deep green with the sights and sound of running water and bird calls echoing through the shadows!” Birder Clyde suggests visiting early in the morning on weekdays to be able to spot several indigenous birds.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve (ID: 261)
Country
Seychelles
Status
Inscribed 1983 Site history
History of Vallée de Mai
1983: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • vii
  • viii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Wildlife habitat: Flora
Recent Connections
View all (21) .
Connections of Vallée de Mai
Individual People
  • General Gordon
    Visited in 1881and developed a theory that it was the Garden of Eden

    See 196.1.120.228

  • Marianne North
    Visited during a period of 3 months spent in the Seychelles during 1883. Numerous paintings of Coco de Mer and 1 "famous" one of the Waterfall within the park

    See www.kew.org

Geography
Trivia
Ecology
World Heritage Process
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Paleocene
    at about 90Ma Madagascar parted from India and Seychelles. The isolation of the Seychelles was completed at about 65Ma when India and Seychelles drifted apart
Visiting conditions
News
seychellesnewsagency.com 12/06/2018
Tiny frog endemic to Seychelles to…
seychellesnewsagency.com 01/28/2017
Eradication of ring-necked parakee…
seychellesnewsagency.com 02/06/2015
First Coco-de-Mer poachers of the …

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 07/09/12.

Clyde

Vallée De Mai

Vallée de Mai (Inscribed)

Vallée de Mai by Clyde

This WHS is home to the largest seed in the world. I'd suggest to visit early in the morning on weekdays to avoid most tourist groups and be able to spot several indigenous birds such as the Seychelles Blue Pigeon, Madagascar Turtle-Dove, Seychelles Bulbul, Seychelles Sunbird and above all the rare Seychelles Black Parrot. I was extremely lucky to see about 4-5 pairs on one Coco de Mer tree from the 100 breeding pairs !!! The lush vegetation and tall trees are truly unique and the different trails give you a great view of the place. Do not miss the high viewpoint from one of the trails with a birds eye view of all the reserve. Moreover, the reserve houses both UNESCO certificates for Seychelles' 2 WHS including the Aldabra Atoll.

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 23/03/09.

Ben Pastore

Vallée De Mai

Vallée de Mai (Inscribed)

Photo by Daniel C-Hazard

Having just spent a week on Praslin Island, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit this tiny WHS. Claims that this might have been the original garden of Eden are a bit exaggerated, but the atmosphere is definitely unique with giant palm fronds casting an interesting atmosphere under the canopy. Of course, the rather anantomically correct male and female Coco de Mer palms are the real stars of the show, and was very glad one of those giant nuts didn't fall on my head. It was also nice to see the steep entrance fee being put to good use, as they were nearing completion on a brand new visitor's center when I visited (March 2009)

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 01/05/05.

Anonymous

Vallée De Mai

Vallée de Mai (Inscribed)

Photo by Daniel C-Hazard

Wonderful place to be, sort of like an enchanted forest! We visited Seychelles for our honeymoon in November 2006, and soon discovered much about the different islands. We did not do much research before going there, so knew nothing about the coco de mer. We were introduced to this by the locals when we got there, and soon learned about the forest where the fruit grows naturally, at the Vallee de Mai nature reserve. going through the forest was very exciting, we loved every bit of it. Highly recommended to visit if you are ever in Praslin.

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 01/05/05.

Solivagant

Vallée De Mai

Vallée de Mai (Inscribed)

Vallée de Mai by Solivagant

In all honesty I hadn’t expected a great deal from Vallée de Mai – probably just a short walk through a virtual “botanical garden” in a rather touristy atmosphere! In fact we managed to escape the tourists (despite ourselves being in a group) and the atmosphere was magically primeval – cool and deep green with the sights and sound of running water and bird calls echoing through the shadows! The tourist hype of “Garden of Eden” might be a bit OTT but the site is well “worth a detour” if you find yourself in the Seychelles and can make it across to the island of Praslin!

A problem I had feared was that the site is (one of? Any corrective information would be gratefully received) the smallest of natural WHS at a mere 18 ha (The next largest might be Messel Fossil Pit and Giants Causeway at 70 ha – but neither of these is trying to preserve a living ecosystem). Indeed it seems unlikely that IUCN would accept this site today (it was inscribed in 1983) without the establishment of proper “buffer zones” etc. As on so many matters, the “goalposts” on WHS inscription have moved significantly since the early days. IUCN does suggest in its evaluation that the Seychelles government should expand the property boundaries to include the rest of Praslin National Park - within which the Vallée sits. This of course hasn’t been done and recent evaluations (up to 2007) suggest that a far tougher line would …

Keep reading 0 comments