Aldabra Atoll

Aldabra is a raised coral atoll in the Outer Islands, far to the south-west of Mahé and closer to Madagascar. The Seychelles Islands Foundation, which manages it, says it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, has about 155 km² of land within 2,559 km² of protected area, and holds an estimated 100,000 giant tortoises.

There is no airstrip, harbour, jetty or helipad. Visits are by liveaboard vessel only, usually after a charter flight to Assomption and a boat crossing of about 45 km; you need prior SIF authorisation and must be accompanied by SIF staff throughout. SIF does not run trips itself, so book through a tour operator. It charges a visitor impact fee per day (its own pages give two different figures, so confirm the amount with SIF). SIF counts about 445 tourists a year.