When the first explorers reached the Vallée de Mai, they thought it might be the original 'Garden of Eden' from old stories. It is not - but you can see why they said it. The huge palm leaves overhead, some six metres long, let only a little green light through. Walking on the paths feels a bit like being inside a giant cathedral made of plants.
The forest has been growing more or less the same way for millions of years. It is one of the oldest plant communities on the planet. Six different kinds of palm tree grow there, all native to Seychelles, and the coco de mer is the star of the show.
Listen carefully and you can hear the Seychelles black parrot - the national bird of Seychelles. It is shy and rarely seen, but its low whistle floats through the trees. Tiny geckos and skinks scuttle on the palm trunks, and you sometimes hear a coconut-sized seed thudding to the ground.
The Vallée de Mai is looked after very carefully. Children in Seychelles visit on school trips and learn to walk quietly, leave nothing behind, and protect the trees for the next generation. Some of the palms have been growing there since their great-great-grandparents were children.