Many of you must have read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Enid Blyton’s adventure stories that centre round islands— The Island of Adventure, Five on a Treasure Island and so on.
Do you know that there is an island in the Indian Ocean that looks like it is straight out of an adventure story? It looks grim, remote, forbidding and its peak is perpetually covered in clouds. The only way to get there is by boat. It used to be a shelter for pirates long ago, many of whom are said to have buried their treasure there. What might interest you most is the fact that people still go there to dig for treasure!
We are talking about Silhouette, the third largest island in the Seychelles. When I saw it first from the Beau Vallon Beach in Mahe, I thought it was called Silhouette because of its shadowy outline etched against the bright blue sky.
It looked like a lost world from a Conan Doyle novel, the emerald hills covered in a cloak of clouds. But actually the island was named after an 18th Century French officer. Although it is just 19 km away from Mahe, the largest and most important island of the Seychelles archipelago, it seems to belong to another time and place!
Silhouette has one of the thickest virgin forests in the Indian Ocean. An important reason for its isolation is the fact that for a long time no boat could get near it because of the coral reef that surrounds it. There is a long pier now which makes landing much easier. But even then the boat cannot reach it directly. There are rubber dinghies which ferry visitors from the boat to the pier. The island is three miles long and three miles wide and is the home of around two hundred people.

On the island
As you alight from the boat, the mountains peer down somewhat forbiddingly. The peak, Mount Dauban, is 780 meters high. Marshes overgrown with prickly pears and creepers loom up all around. If you look carefully you can make out some strange looking graves among them. They are said to belong to very early Arab traders who sought shelter here. They knew the place long before the Europeans who first arrived in 1910.
Hodoul, the famous pirate, made Silhouette his home at some point of time and buried all his treasure here. The islanders firmly believe that it is still here, as do many others. Silhouette seems to have been the favourite resort of other pirates as well, especially those who were driven out of the Caribbean at the beginning of the 18th century.
They used the place as a base from which to operate and loot the traders sailing between the prosperous colonies of the Indies to Europe. I was told that many come to look for buried treasure in Silhouette even now! Also among the marsh is a mausoleum with marble columns. It belongs to the Dauban family who once owned this island. It holds the graves of many members of the family.

Coconut and cinnamon
Like other islands in the Seychelles, Silhouette is full of coconut palm and cinnamon trees. Copra is the main industry here and the main livelihood of the people. People here also grow coffee, avocados, cinnamon and tobacco.
Another typical product of the island is bigarades, a tiny fruit which tastes like a bitter orange. It is used for making marmalade. Close to the pier landing is La Passe’s main square, shaded by takamaka and breadfruit trees.
It might interest you to know that since no grains grow in the sandy islands of the Seychelles, breadfruit forms an important part of their diet and is sometimes eaten as you would eat potatoes. I asked one of the locals who told me that it is boiled or baked first and then either mashed or fried like potatoes. People also make a kind of bread with the dough of the mashed fruit.
Silhouette is a place for nature lovers and for those who love adventure. Two tracks join the island from north to south. There are no proper roads, no cars, no post office and no police station! And of course no mobile phones or iPods! You come across hushed silence everywhere and feel as if you should speak in whispers! There is a rough track through the equatorial forest but it is unsafe to venture there without a local guide. That is because in places the forest is so dense that you need to clear the way with an axe.
Most people come to Silhouette in the morning and return (to Mahe or elsewhere) well before sundown. But people who want to see ‘moutia’ danced to the accompaniment of the ‘tam-tam’ around bonfires at night stay in Silhouette Lodge, the only hotel in the island.
It has log cabins built among the lush greenery and flowering shrubs. The view of the bay and the lonely beach is beautiful. Sea bathing is said to be safe and the hotel makes provision for snorkelling as well as water sports. But what makes Silhouette special is its eerie and unshakable air of mystery. The kind of stuff dreams are made of!

FACT FILE
*Silhouette Island lies 20 km northwest of Mahé in the Seychelles.
*It is the third largest island in the Seychelles.
*The island is mountainous with five peaks over 500 meters high; Mont Dauban, Mont-Pot-a-Eau, Gratte Fesse, Mont Corgat and Mont Cocos Marrons.