Seychelles

The Vallée de Mai, Praslin

On Praslin, the Vallée de Mai is a palm forest inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, on just 19.5 hectares. It is home to the coco de mer, which has the largest seeds of any plant, and the rare Seychelles black parrot.

Coco de mer nuts under the fronds of the Vallée de Mai
Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Key facts

Before you go.

Starting point
Vallée de Mai visitor centre, bus stop outside the entranceVallée de Mai (Seychelles Islands Foundation)
Opening hours
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., last entry 3:30 p.m.; closed on 25 December and 1 JanuaryVallée de Mai (Seychelles Islands Foundation)
Official price
Entrance at SCR 450 (Seychelles rupees) · checked on 1 November 2026Vallée de Mai (Seychelles Islands Foundation)

Good to know

Three things to remember.

Plan the trip

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Sources · 2 pages consulted, with the exact sentence used
  1. Vallée de Mai (Wikipedia)
    Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve ("May Valley") is a nature park on the island of Praslin in the Seychelles. […] In 1983, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranking as one of the world's smallest natural properties on the list at just 19.5 hectares (48 acres). The coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica), a monocot tree in the Arecaceae (palm family), has the largest seeds (double nut seed) of any plant in the world. Also unique to the park is its wildlife, including birds such as the rare Seychelles black parrot (coordinates -4.32916667, 55.7375)
  2. Vallée de Mai (Seychelles Islands Foundation)
    Opening times 8:30 - 16:30 last entry is 15:30 (closed on 25th December and 1st January) […] Public bus (There is a bus stop outside the entrance to the Visitor Centre with buses scheduled throughout the Vallée de Mai opening hours) […] A free information leaflet is distributed to every visitor on their entrance to the Vallée de Mai, which includes a map of the paths of the Vallée de Mai […] There are several possible walking routes around the Vallée de Mai and their distances vary from ca. 1.5 km to ca. 4 km. […] should it rain the palm forest will shelter you! […] Tickets can be bought on site at the ticket office in the visitor centre. Your entrance fee of SCR 450 covers the use of all of the available facilities and services at the Vallée de Mai

Opening hours, prices and access conditions change: check them with the official source before you go. Viafro publishes no price without a source and a date.