![]() The warden and expedition leader will plan any excursions, taking into account the weather and state of the tide. Some are barren while others are covered in a variety of flowering plants including orchids and mangroves. Many of the islets inside the lagoon are champignon with a flat, tabular surface and a slender limestone stalk. ![]() The jagged, fossilised limestone cliffs undercut by constant wave action, and the desolate sand dunes rising up to 15m above sea level, form the barrier between sea and land. The four islands thus formed are Grande Terre or Main Island, which is by far the largest Picard, hosting the settlement Polymnie, the smallest and Malabar, which runs straight along the northern edge of the atoll.įringing platform reef encircles almost the entire atoll. ![]() The rim of the atoll is broken by four channels which link the massive, shallow lagoon to the ocean. The elliptically shaped atoll is approximately 34km long and about 14km across, which makes it the largest raised coral atoll in the world. Aldabra is one of only two places in the world where giant tortoises still occur naturally – the other is the Galápagos Islands © Jan Bures, Shutterstock The evocative name Aldabra probably stems from the Arabic word Al-Khadra meaning green, which could be a reference to the green-based cloud that can sometimes be seen hanging over the atoll, reflecting the colour of the vast interior lagoon. The harsh and arid nature of the atoll, with its sharp, jagged, limestone terrain and thick, impenetrable vegetation, prevented the full-scale exploitation that beset most of the other Seychelles islands.Īlthough it is not, and never has been, on any regular shipping routes, it was first recorded on early Portuguese charts in 1509, and it is highly likely that discovery by Arab seafarers preceded this date. Rugged, rough and remote, this World Heritage Site wilderness atoll has survived the ravages of man over the centuries because of these very characteristics. Aldabra is awesome in its wild, untamed and natural beauty.
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