Seychelles
Vallée de Mai
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
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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
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- sif.sc — Vallée de Mai
News Article
- Dec. 6, 2018 seychellesnewsagency.com — Tiny frog endemic to Seychelles to be monitored by audio recorders
- Jan. 28, 2017 seychellesnewsagency.com — Eradication of ring-necked parakeets in Seychelles could be confirmed this year
- Feb. 6, 2015 seychellesnewsagency.com — First Coco-de-Mer poachers of the year arrested in Seychelles
- Jan. 12, 2015 seychellesnewsagency.com — Endemic Seychelles Black Parrot hatchlings bring hope for vulnerable species
- Nov. 23, 2014 themalaymailonline.com — Seychelles poachers steal nuts of the famous coco de mer palm
Community Information
- Community Category
- Wildlife habitat: Flora
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
1983 -
Centres of Plant Diversity
IO3 Seychelles (Granite Islands) - "The… -
Foreigner prices
SCR 450 (33 USD) for foreigners, locals…
Connections of Vallée de Mai
- Individual People
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General Gordon
Visited in 1881and developed a theory that it was the Garden of EdenSee 196.1.120.228
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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 parkSee www.kew.org
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- Geography
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Indian Ocean
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Situated in one of the SIDS
Seychelles 1983 -
Located in a microstate
Seychelles (455km2 / 80699 inhabitants) -
Isolated WHS
1100 kms from Aldabra
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- Trivia
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Depicted on National Coat of Arms
Seychelles, coco de mer -
Swan songs
Seychelles 1983 -
Smallest natural WHS
20 ha (1)
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- Ecology
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Endemic Bird Species
Seychelles Bulbul, Black Parrot, Kestrel, Swiftlet, Sunbird Blue Pigeon -
Notable examples of island gigantism
Coco de Mer (Largest seed in the world) -
Rainforests
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Virgin Forests
retains primeval palm forest in a near-natural state (AB ev)
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- World Heritage Process
- WHS on Other Lists
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Centres of Plant Diversity
IO3 Seychelles (Granite Islands) - "The property represents an outstanding example of biological evolution dominated by endemic palms" -
WWF Global 200
Terrestrial, Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests: Seychelles & Mascarenes Moist Forests (subregion Granitic Seychelles forests)See web.archive.org
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Biodiversity hotspot
Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands -
World Heritage Forest Programme
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- Timeline
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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
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- Visiting conditions
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Foreigner prices
SCR 450 (33 USD) for foreigners, locals free(?)
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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 …
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Vallée de Mai
- Adrian Turtschi
- Afshin Iranpour
- Alexander Lehmann
- alicemears
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Andrea Szabo
- Artur Anuszewski
- Atila Ege
- Ben Pastore
- BenReeve
- Bill Maurmann
- Bram de Bruin
- Brett Baumann
- Cheryl
- Clyde
- cumulus
- Daniel C-Hazard
- Dorejd
- Elf21
- Eric PK
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fan Yibo
- Felicité
- George Evangelou
- George Gdanski
- Gernot
- Gianmarco
- GithaK
- GZ
- Hanming
- Harald T.
- Iain Jackson
- Ivan Rucek
- Janos
- Jeffrey Chai Ran
- João Aender
- john booth
- Jonoprout
- jxrocky
- Kbecq
- La Concy
- Loic Pedras
- Longdutch
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Luj3904
- marcel staron
- Marcobrey
- Mariam
- Martina Rúčková
- Michael Ayers
- Michael Novins
- Mihai Dascalu
- Mikko
- Morodhi
- Nihal Ege
- Patrik_globe
- Philipp Leu
- Reiseblog
- Reisedachs
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Sandmann15
- Sascha Grabow
- Serimari
- SHIHE HUANG
- shoaibmnagi
- Simonh
- Slavi
- Solivagant
- Sophie
- subhayan_svnit
- Thomas Buechler
- Timothy C Easton
- Vernon Prieto
- VMThumper
- voyager
- Walter
- Wo_ko
- Yongcheng Liu
- Zoë Sheng
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
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.
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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)
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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.
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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 …
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