Thus the hunt began for the buried treasure of the most infamous of pirates to sail the Indian Ocean, Frenchman Olivier le Vasseur, know as 'La Buze' (the buzzard).

In the 1720's he joined forces with another pirate, Englishman John Taylor, to terrorize shipping throughout the Indian Ocean. In 1730 Le Vasseur was captured by the French and, on the 7th July of that year, hanged on Isle de France (now Mauritius). Many still believe his priceless booty remains hidden on one of the small islands of Seychelles, long used as pirate bases. Modern day treasure-seekers come to Seychelles for very different reasons: the lure of golden beaches and the elusive ideal of a tropical paradise.

So does Seychelles live up to its paradise hype? In a word - yes. On the hundred or so islands in Seychelles, scattered over an area of 400,000 square kilometers of ocean, you can discover primeval mist forests, huge flocks of sea birds and giant tortoises, black parrots and the flightless white-throated rail bird (related to the extinct Dodo). There are old plantation houses, ruins of leper hospitals, pirate graves and legend of buried treasure. Then of course, there are the famous beaches - miles of deserted powdery white sands, surrounded by coral reefs and sparkling lagoons.

The archipelago of Seychelles lies four degrees south of the Equator and 'a thousand miles from anywhere. The inner granite islands were created from a splinter of India when it tore away from Gondwanaland and the nearest land is across a thousand mile of ocean. The outer islands, many of which are uninhabited, are flat and coralline. 

Seychelles is one of those few places in the world that has no real natural hazards or danger. There is no malaria or other serious diseases. It lies outside the cyclone and hurricane belts, so the weather is pleasant all year round. 
The local people enjoy a good standard of living and there are no beggars or hawkers on the streets or beaches. There is little crime, and the country has that 'laid back' tropical atmosphere guaranteed to make even the most nervous of travelers relax. Tourist numbers are well managed : even at the height of the tourist season you can easily find a deserted beach. There are no high-rise hotels and the airport is considered busy if two flights arrive around the same time.

The Seychelles as a country is considered to be one of the world's most environmentally-conscious. It has limited the number of tourist beds available on the islands in order to stop over-commercialization of the destination. Because Seychelles embraced tourism rather late -the international airport was not built until 1971- it has learned from the mistakes of many other tropical holiday destinations. 

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