Guide to Seychelles mountain biking holidays

When you think of the Seychelles, you probably think of white sand beaches and cocktails. But this collection of paradise islands in the Indian Ocean makes an excellent mountain biking destination. While many of the islands are coral atolls, some are ancient volcanic islands formed of granite, with hilly interiors to explore.

A Seychelles mountain biking holiday can take you through lush jungle, up and down some steep mountain trails, and along flat coastal roads. The three main islands – Mahe, Praslin and La Digue – are where most people stay, and are the easiest to bike on. Many of the others are private resort islands, or are uninhabited and so very difficult to get to. Beware the traffic on some of the roads on Mahe: best to get off-road as fast as you can!

The interior of the Seychelles is largely unspoilt, with over half the islands’ area being nature reserves. There is plenty of space to explore off the road but you’ll find most of the trails pretty tough, narrow and poorly maintained. The interior hills stretch up as high as 900m, so you should be able to get some downhill action if that’s your thing.

The trail up the Morne Blanc mountain on Mahe is particularly spectacular and well worth doing. It’s toughish climb uphill to get to the top, but when you get there, you’ll be rewarded by one of the Indian Ocean’s best views. From the top, you’ll see over the mist-covered forests, right down to the sea.

A Seychelles mountain biking trip offers you some truly beautiful trail-riding in one of the world’s last unspoilt corners.