Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km²) of the Inner

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, lying northeast of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts:

Baie Sainte Anne Baie Sainte Anne () is an administrative district of Seychelles located mostly on the island of Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Praslin has ...

and Grand' Anse. The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.

History

It was named ''Isle de Palmes'' by explorer Lazare Picault in 1744. During that time it was used as a hideaway by pirates and Arab merchants. In 1768 it was renamed ''Praslin'' in honor of French diplomat César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin. Praslin is known as a tourist destination with several hotels and resorts, as well as a number of beaches such as Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette. It has substantial tracts of tropical forests with birds such as the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Seychelles bulbul and the Seychelles black parrot. The

Vallée de Mai Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve ("May Valley") is a nature park and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of Praslin, Seychelles. It consists of a well-preserved Arecaceae, palm forest, flagship species made up of the endemism, island endemic co ...

Nature Preserve, established in 1979, is known for the unique coco de mer and vanilla

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

. It has been reported that General

Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, Gordon of Khartoum and General Gordon , was a British ...

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

(1833–1885), an ardent Christian cosmologist, was convinced that Vallée de Mai was the Biblical "

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

". Praslin is home to Praslin Island Airport, while surrounding islands include

Curieuse Island Curieuse Island is a small granitic island in the Seychelles close to the north coast of the island of Praslin. Curieuse is notable for its bare red earth intermingled with the unique coco de mer palms, one of the cultural icons of the Seychell ...

La Digue La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin, and Silho ...

, Cousin Island, Cousine Island and Aride Island. There are a few near offshore islets including Round Island (0.193 km²) and Chauve Souris (0.007 km²), both of which have hotel accommodations. A large area in the south of the island has been designated as Praslin National Park and surrounding areas Important Bird Area.

Gallery

File:Traumstrand Anse Georgette, Praslin Seychellen (27839767139).jpg, Beach Anse Georgette, Praslin File:Beach Anse Lazio Praslin Seychelles.DNG (38720879125).jpg, Beach Anse Lazio, Praslin File:Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles (38720921075).jpg, Beach Anse Lazio File:Coco de Mer (39638784082).jpg, Coco de Mer from Praslin File:Insel Praslin, Seychellen (38908943104).jpg, Praslin, Seychellen File:Strand Petite Anse Kerlan, Praslin Seychellen (38908986064).jpg, Beach Petite Anse Kerlan, Praslin File:Seychelles large map.jpg, Praslin within Seychelles File:Praslin.svg, Map of Praslin File:Shorts360airsey.jpg, Praslin airport File:Seychelles praslin anselazio.jpg, Anse Lazio Beach on Praslin File:Seychelles bulbul.jpg, Seychelles bulbul (''Hypsipetes crassirostris'') on Praslin File:Valleé de mai2.jpg, The

on Praslin Island, often referred to as the Garden of Eden. File:Coco de mer leafs.jpg, Coco de mer File:Praslin island seen from La Digue.JPG, Praslin seen from the east File:Praslin von Anse Sévère.jpg, View of the second largest island of the Seychelles, Praslin, from Anse Sévère, La Digue, Seychelles

References

External links

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Maps of Praslin

Gallery of Praslin

Praslin Reptiles List

Praslin Fish List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Praslin, Seychelles Islands of Praslin Islands Somali Sea

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links