Aldabra Atoll

The journey to Aldabra is part of the experience itself: the atoll lies over 1,000 kilometres southwest of Mahé, and the flight and boat approach across open ocean gives you time to understand why Aldabra is described as one of the most isolated places on earth, a feeling that is confirmed the moment the low profile of the atoll emerges from the horizon.

The lagoon that fills the centre of the atoll is so large it has its own weather system, and from the deck of a boat crossing it you can watch clouds form and dissipate over the water in the afternoon heat, a reminder of the scale of the lagoon — it is genuinely difficult to comprehend that you are looking at a single coral reef structure.

The giant tortoises that inhabit the islands within the atoll are the most immediate and memorable presence for any visitor, and seeing them in the numbers that exist here — the largest wild population of Aldabra giant tortoises in the world — is unlike anything available elsewhere on the planet, their ancient presence on these islands predating human contact by millions of years.

The beach at Picard Island on the western side of the atoll is where the green turtles come ashore to nest in enormous numbers, and the tracks of dozens of turtles in the sand are visible at any time during the nesting season, with the turtles themselves appearing after dark in numbers that can only be described as extraordinary.

The inner islands of the atoll are covered in a distinctive scrubland of Pemphis acidula, a salt-tolerant shrub that has evolved to survive in the challenging environment of the coral islands, and the shapes these trees form — sculpted by the prevailing wind into shapes that look almost deliberately artistic — are among the most photographed subjects in the Seychelles.

Access to Aldabra is strictly controlled by the Seychelles Islands Foundation, and the maximum number of visitors at any one time is very small, meaning the atoll has not been degraded by the tourism that has affected other Indian Ocean reefs, and the experience of being there is genuinely undiluted by the modern world.

The birdlife is remarkable and the visibility from the observation tower at the research station gives you a view of the seabird colonies that is almost overwhelming in its scale — thousands of frigatebirds, boobies, terns and noddies breeding in a single area, the noise of the colony audible from a considerable distance.

Coral health in the lagoon and around the outer reef is better than most places in the Indian Ocean, a result of the protection the atoll has enjoyed and the strict management of the number of visitors, and snorkelling along the inner reef reveals a coral garden of considerable diversity and colour.

It is the world's largest raised coral atoll and one of the most isolated ecosystems on earth, offering a degree of wilderness experience that is essentially irreplaceable.

The Aldabra giant tortoise population is the largest in the world and the experience of seeing them in these numbers is available nowhere else on the planet.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected area of outstanding universal value where the natural systems function at a level of integrity rarely found in inhabited regions.