La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette Island. It has a population of 2,800 people.
Most of the inhabitants live in the west coast villages of La Passe (linked by ferry to Praslin and Mahé) and Anse Réunion. There is no airport on La Digue, so to get there from a foreign country, one must fly to Victoria and continue by ferry, usually via Praslin.
It has an area of 10.08 km2, which makes it relatively easy to travel around by bike or on foot. La Digue was named after a ship in the fleet of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, who visited the Seychelles in 1768.
The Seychelles generally have warm temperatures throughout the year. They get frequent and sometimes heavy rainfall. On La Digue, rainfall can be very heavy, but it usually lasts for one hour or less. Daytime temperatures on La Digue normally range from 24 °C (75 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F); nighttime temperatures are slightly colder. The months with the heaviest rainfall are October to March, with a monthly precipitation of 402.6 mm (15.85 in) in January. The month with the least precipitation is July, with only 76.6 mm (3.02 in) of rain.
The inhabitants of La Digue are called Diguois. The first inhabitants arrived in 1798, exiled from Île Bourbon (now named Réunion) for taking part in a political rebellion there. They were supposed to be sent to the East Indies, but bribed the captain to ship them to Seychelles instead where many had relatives. The population of La Digue is mostly Catholic and the island’s feast day on 15 August is a national holiday.
