Curieuse Island

Curieuse Island is a small granitic island located in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, close to the north coast of the island of Praslin.

From 1833 to 1965 Curieuse housed lepers from Mauritius, ruins can still be seen along with the doctor's house, which is now home to an education centre and museum.

In 1979, Curieuse and surrounding waters were declared the Curieuse Marine National Park in order to protect the native wildlife. On the southern part of the island is a mangrove swamp with a walkway for park visitors.

The island is known for coco de mer (Maldive coconut), giant takamaka trees, a large hawksbill turtle rookery and a population of giant tortoises, introduced here in the 1980's.

It takes around 45 minutes to walk round the island. There are many common land and seabirds to be found here including the rare Seychelles Black Parrot, found only here and on Praslin.

Note: there are no commercial buildings on the island.

Cruise ships anchor and tender passengers ashore.