Should you still be unsure about your visit and need some convincing, here are ten exceptional reasons!
- Apart from a handful of conservation workers, Aride is uninhabited, and is closer to what Seychelles was like before man arrived than any other island.
- A full day trip to Aride gives more time to enjoy the island and photograph its abundant wildlife than other island trips, which tend to be shorter and more hurried.
- There are 10 breeding species of seabird on Aride, more than any other granitic island. These include the world’s largest colony of Lesser Noddies, the world’s only hilltop colony of Sooty Terns, Seychelles’ and the World’s largest colony of Audubon’s Shearwater, the Indian Ocean’s largest colony of Roseate Tern (named arideensis, after the island), the only Red-tailed Tropicbirds nesting outside the Aldabra group and by far the largest roost of Frigatebirds in the granitic Seychelles.
- The northern cliffs at the climax of the nature trail offer a spectacular view across the ocean. Here the vista takes in Denis Island on the horizon, Frigatebirds gliding by at eye-level, Red-tailed Tropicbirds and the coral reef below, where turtles surface for air.
- Aride is home to 3 species of skink, 2 species of gecko, and 2 species of snake, and boasts the greatest density of lizards in the world.
- The sheer numbers of birds are higher than on any other granitic island: well over one and a quarter million.
- Eighteen native species of bird (including five only found in Seychelles) breed on Aride, more than on any other granitic island. This includes the world’s largest population of Seychelles Warbler and a smaller population of the endangered Seychelles Magpie-Robin.
- Aride is the only location in the world where the beautiful flowering shrub Wright's Gardenia grows naturally.
- Around 400 species of fish have been recorded on and around the reefs surrounding Aride, including spectacular pelagics such as Sailfish and Wahoo, and there is a resident pod of Bottlenose Dolphins.
- Aride’s conservation monitoring is unrivalled: the island boasts the longest continuous scientific programmes of any island in Seychelles, yielding data of both national and international importance. Your visit directly helps us continue this work, with 100% (yes that’s all of it!) of your entrance fee going directly to the island. Visitors are thus helping support a working research station as well as a globally important nature reserve.
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Launching the Island RIB ... |
Seychelles Magpie Robin ... |
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Learning Photography ...
School Visit ...
View from Western Woodland ...
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