Bird Island, perched on the edge of the Seychelles continental shelf is the most northerly island of the Seychelles Archipelago and is situated 60 miles from the main island of Mahé.

A 30 minute flight from Mahé by light aircraft gives the first stunning impressions of this tiny 170 acre coral cay. Shades of turquoise and blue warm Indian Ocean which define the reef and continental shelf contrast vividly with the 5km of soft, white sand and tropical green island vegetation. The sight for the first time visitor is never to be forgotten and the return visitor eagerly awaits that memory.

The east and south sides are surrounded by a protective barrier reef which is home to many varieties of colourful tropical fish and the rest is an open beach which offers superb safe swimming.

Bird Island offers a magical holiday experience. Endless stretches of fine white coral sand beaches give a true 'castaway' feeling. The emphasis is very much on relaxation and informality. It is a true retreat from today's busy world. Bird, Seychelles’ most northerly island is 100km or a 30-minute flight north of Mahé. Bird is situated 28 miles distant from Denis Island and on the edge of the Seychelles bank, where the ocean drops off to more than 2000 metres. During the period of the southeast trade winds (May-September), Bird is colonised by a million sooty terns that each lay their eggs on their own exclusive square foot of territory.

Home to ‘Esmeralda’, the world’s heaviest land tortoise, this island is also an important nesting site for turtles year-round.

Twenty-four comfortable bungalows, excellent beaches, a reputation for good cuisine and a convivial atmosphere complement great opportunities for snorkelling, deep-sea fishing, and nature watching.

History and Culture Bird Island, once known as Ile aux Vaches because of the dugongs or sea cows that thrived there, lies directly in the path of seafarers approaching Seychelles from a northerly direction.

As such, it can be expected that early Arab seafarers visited her shores on their voyages of exploration that took them down the east coast of Africa.

The island comes under history's spotlight in 1891 when a boatload of Seychellois bound for Bird for the harvesting of birds eggs, encountered a storm and were driven to the shores of Arabia. It took them a year, during which many of them died, before they were able to finally return home.

In the early 1970's, Bird turned to tourism, which thrives until today with the Bird Island Lodge sharing this magnificent coral isle with over 1 million sooty terns between April and September.

With several conservation programmes in place, Bird stands at the forefront of eco-tourism in Seychelles.

wikilinks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_Island,_Seychelles