The Dauban mausoleum
White columns among trees.
Shoichi Iwashita — CC BY 2.0 · Pom' — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dreizung — CC0 · Cybersister27 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hansueli Krapf This file was uploaded with Commonist. — CC BY-SA 3.0
Silhouette is the third-largest granitic island in the Seychelles, north-west of Mahe, covering 20.1 sq km. It is mountainous and green with almost no roads, and about 200 people live here, mostly workers. It is known as one of the least disturbed large islands, drawing those who want forest, walks and quiet, along with a big hotel on the coast. It was named after Étienne de Silhouette, the French finance minister under Louis XV. The crew of an English ship came ashore in 1609, and Charles Oger claimed it for the King of France in 1771. From the mid-19th century until 1960 the Dauban family owned it and developed large plantations, and a local legend says a corsair buried his treasure here. Five peaks rise above 500 m, the highest being Mont Dauban at 751 m, and from Mahe the island appears as a dark shape above the sea. On the coast are La Passe village and its landing, an old house now serving as a museum, and the white Dauban family mausoleum, whose columns echo the Madeleine in Paris. Forest covers the slopes down to the sea. It is about 28 km in a straight line from Victoria, reached by boat or helicopter, usually arranged through the hotel or a tour company, as there are no roads for cars. Bring walking shoes and insect repellent, and ask about trails before setting off, as some are long and hard. Respect the forest and wildlife.
White columns among trees.
Green down to the sea.
An old house at La Passe.
North-west of Mahe, Indian Ocean, Seychelles
By boat or helicopter from Mahe, usually arranged through the hotel or a tour company.
There are almost no roads, so you get around on foot or by the hotel's transport.