Aride is home to more breeding species of sea bird than any other island in the region, and was bought by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1973. The most northerly of the granitic Seychelles islands, Aride offers the only breeding site in the granitic islands for red-tailed tropicbirds, roseate terns and the world’s only sooty tern colony in tall woodland. While on an Aride Island tour, the warden will escort you to the breath-taking cliff tops from where you may glimpse hawksbill turtles and dolphins in the waters below. Aride is also full of botanical treasures and is the only place in the world that you will see the beautiful Wright’s Gardenia and a species of ‘peponium’ that may also be endemic.

In addition to the above bird species, Aride is also home to the world’s largest colony of lesser noddies as well as white-tailed tropic birds, Seychelles magpie-robin, Seychelles fody and Seychelles warbler.

The waters surrounding Aride Island Nature Reserve are protected to 200 metres. While the corals are not particularly spectacular, an incredible 449 species of fish have been recorded. These include pelagic species rarely encountered elsewhere, due to the location of Aride, which is closer to the edge of the Seychelles Bank than other granitic islands. Visits can be arranged from Praslin but landings can sometimes be difficult during the south-east monsoon months.