Mahé highlands and surrounding areas Important Bird Area

Present human activity, including forestry, tourism and some tea cultivation, affect less than 10% of the area of the IBA.

[1] Land within the national park is characterised by steep terrain covered with dense secondary forest and shrub woodland, punctuated by cliffs and large granite boulders.

Endemic species include the very rare Medusagyne oppositifolia and Vateriopsis seychellarum, the commoner Dillenia ferruginea and Northia hornei, as well as Phoenicophorium borsigianum, Nephrosperma vanhoutteanum, Erythroxylum sechellarum, Nepenthes pervillei and Secamone schimperianus.

[1] Outside the national park the IBA includes the mountainous area to the south-east as well as the adjacent districts of La Misère and Cascade.

The majority of this trail passes through the Morne Seychellois National Park, and takes approximately 3 hours to cover both directions.