Félicité Island

About

Félicité Island is a heavy forested granitic island 4 kilometres (2 mi) east of La Digue in the Seychelles. It is the fifth-largest island in the Seychelles archipelago, measuring 2.68 square kilometres (1.03 mi2). Until the 1970s it was a coconut plantation that had a population of about 50. In the late 19th century, Félicité was home to Sultan Abdullah of Perak, who was exiled there by the British. In 2007, the Seychelles government granted a 99-year lease for the then-uninhabited island, which was taken over by Singaporean real estate developer Kishore Buxani in 2013. Buxani and Mukesh Valabhji, a Seychellois developer, started the construction of a resort in mid-2013. Today, the Six Senses Zil Pasyon resort, with 30 villas and a spa, covers a third of the island. Félicité and four granitic neighboring islands are considered "satellite islands" of La Digue. These four islands are routinely visited by tourists: Île Cocos, a tiny islet (017 km2) off the north coast of Félicité which has been part of a marine park since 1996. Les Soeurs (The Sisters), which consists of Grande Soeur at 0.84 square kilometres (0.32 mi2) and Petite Soeur at 0.34 square kilometres (0.13 mi2). For much of the 20th century they were coconut plantations. Marianne Island, an island of 0.96 square kilometres (238 acres) east of Félicité. The southern tip of Marianne is considered a "world class" divin

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.