Salazie Trail

A very diverse and exciting nature trail! 🌿 The Salazie Natural Trail is about 4 km one way (8 km round trip) – so the information on the sign is not entirely accurate. The path starts with about 1.5 km downhill until you reach a power station building. From there, it continues straight uphill to a rock at the highest point of the trail. From this point on, the trail becomes much more challenging, at times even tricky, until you finally arrive at Fairview. Fairview itself is not a viewpoint but a residential area – still, in good weather you can enjoy a nice view down to the sea. The last 500–1000 meters are quite demanding, so proper footwear is highly recommended. 👟 Conclusion: For a free nature trail, it’s definitely worth it – varied, exciting, and with beautiful views when the weather is clear.

A hike best done with someone who has done it before. You can go from Sans soucis to La Misere and vice-versa or get to the start of Rose Belle hike. It's not an always well maintained hike, so becareful, best to go in the dry season, May-October.

Nice easy trail for the first part, after approx 1km you will have the best view point. After 2.5km it’s very steep down into a village which is the end point of the trail. I would recommend to stop before the steep decent as there is not much to see there and you will have to climb it back up. At this point: 4°39'35.4"S 55°27'37.0"E

LENGTH: 2.9 KM (1.8 MI.) TIME: 1 HR DIFFICULTY: EASY TOTAL ASCENT/DESCENT: 329 M (1,079 FT.) The trail begins here on a former tea plantation near the water source that supplies the entire west coast of Mahé. Today, the area is used for lumber production, particularly mahogany and santol. This is also the natural habitat of the Seychelles scops owl (Otus insularis), which is endemic to Mahé. A nocturnal creature, it is difficult to observe in the forest and hikers have little chance of seeing it. On the other hand, the large bats that congregate in the trees are easy to spot. You will then take a wide farm track, part of which is open to vehicle traffic for much of the hike. In the acacias to your right, Seychelles blue pigeons (Alectroenas pulcherrimus) are often observed as they come to feed. If you look to the right, you can also get a rare view of Morne Seychellois, the highest point in the area and for many thousands of miles around. From this angle, the crest at the peak could be confused with another national symbol, the love nut. After a few hundred meters, the trail leads to a building whose roof offers shelter to farm laborers during rainstorms. You will then cross a river on a cement bridge. Leave the track when it turns to the right and continue straight toward a water maintenance building. After this landmark the trail, which is still quite wide, will begin to climb a steep slope. To your right you will be able to see a magnificent glacis. A few minutes later, you will come to another panoramic viewpoint with a vista that includes several different peaks. From left to right: Mission Lodge, Congo Rouge, above them Morne Seychellois and lastly the Copolia glacis. In the middle of the path you will see, in season, a white, five-petaled flower called star of Bethlehem. Do not pick or touch this, as the sap is irritating to the skin. At the end of a grassy trail, the path turns to the left when you reach a cement block. You will then find yourself under the shade of the trees. At the crest of a small hill covered with dense vegetation, you will see a secondary path that leads off to the left and up a flight of 20 steps. There you will find, at the base of an enormous block of granite, a large coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica), the famous palm tree endemic to Seychelles that produces the love nut. You will not have the chance to see one of the curiously shaped fruits, however, as this tree is a male, completely isolated from the females that are found almost exclusively on Praslin. For logistical reasons, you could end your hike here at the base of the tree and retrace your steps back to your vehicle. It takes the same amount of time to continue the hike straight ahead, if you have arranged for transportation at the end. The Misère road is located just a few hundred meters away.

Failed to reach the end due to a fallen tree 300m or so from endpoint. Failed to navigate around it. Otherwise very serene trail

Not worth doing. Do the Morne Blanc trail and Tea Factory trail instead, they are much better. Salazie Trail is not a nature trail, you just walk down an abandoned concrete road with cable poles and ruins by the side of it. Not very interesting.

Recherchant le trail “casse-dent”, nous avons vu sur la droite cet autre trail. Pourquoi pas … Avant tout, il est quasi impossible de se garer. Il existe bien un parking plus bas mais c’est très loin du début. Nous avons préféré trouver un emplacement sur la route mais quelle galère. Heureusement qu’il n’y a pas personne ! L’affiche explicative fait toujours rêver. Nous devons trouver des arbres produisant de la girofle, de la cannelle et bien évidemment du cacao. Que dal ! Et puis, on nous remet LA photo qui fera rêver. Il est possible de voir des caméléons tigrés. Vous imaginez déjà la difficulté de repérer un caméléon alors au cours d’un rando ! On imagine l’animal nous attendre sur une branche et même s’il était là, le plus du caméléon n’est-il pas de se dissimuler ? Bref, n’importe quoi. Le début de la réunion ne fait pas rêver. Il faut faire 400 mètres sur un chemin moitié bétonné, moitié en terre et sans intérêt. On arrive alors au début avec le premier panneau et … on continue à voir les mêmes paysages un peu pourris. La rando faisant 3 km environ pour un dénivelé important et un alors qu’on se fait bouffer par les moustiques, on rebroussé chemin après avoir admiré quelques canettes et autres paquets de chips sur le chemin. Perso … je vote contre ce trail :-)

Salazie Nature Trail

Wonderful trail to do with kids, I did it with my 3yo. The first half doesnt feel like an actual trail (there are car tracks) but the rest in the forest is just amazing.

Amazing place to visit..there a few view points you just have to find them🥰😋

Good trail..but needs attention..some trees fallen down blocking way... got a bit lost after post 5... But the best part was seeing a bunny free in the wild DURING the Easter season🐣 😜...epic

Wir hatten uns mehr erhofft. Parken kann man gut bei der Venn‘s Town Mission Lodge. Der Zugang zum Trail ist dann circa 400m entfernt. Der Weg führt einfach nur über einen alten Wirtschaftsweg den Berg runter - und natürlich zurück wieder den Berg hoch. Für uns hat es sich nicht gelohnt.

I got lost there , no enough signs , there's misleading unofficial signs that got me wrong ,i couldn't reach the end point and turned back

Je ne recommande pas… Il n’y a pas de parking, on a du se garer au bord de la route… La cascade, on ne l’a jamais vu… Une randonnée assez sportive alors qu’elle est annoncée comme facile Nous n’avons pas pu accéder à la fin de la randonnée, à 200m du Fairview le passage était IMPOSSIBLE, aucun tracé, pas de chemin, on a du faire demi tour… Je ne conseille pas cette randonnée, faites plutôt le Coppolia trail ou le Morne Blanc qui se situent dans la même zone !

It was so nice experience, I saw lots of foot mark on the way. I heard there is no wild animal on seychelles, i found same foot mark Morne Seychellois as well, it make me little bit nervous. If you have any idea please inbox me.

Salazie trail there's less view but the nature is really good if you want explore nature best trail to go. There is another trail inside this trail it's call rosebell trail I did not get chance to go in that trail but going soon

The Salazie Trail on Mahé is a short but rewarding forest hike. Starting from an old tea plantation road, the path winds through cinnamon and acacia trees, past traces of forgotten farmland. A small stream refreshes you midway, and the air grows cooler as you climb under giant ferns and mossy trunks. At the top, the trees open to reveal misty views of Morne Seychellois, a quiet, timeless lookout that captures both the island’s history and its wild beauty.