La Digue Running Options

Run on a cement road sitting atop boulders or to what some call “The World’s Most Beautiful Beach”. La Digue is the most unspoiled of the more visited islands in the Seychelles, little development and few cars. It’s small, with only ~10 km of roads. From the ferry terminal in the village of La Passe, there are three ‘directions’ runners can take — which can be done as separate routes or combined for longer runs. (Anse=Beach).

Northeast Coast Route. 10 km out and back, 161m gain. This is the best run on La Digue. From La Passe, a cement road built atop boulders heads north and then winds around to hug the northeast coast. It’s a gorgeous run, with views to the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean, large boulders, and lush foliage. It’s 5 km from La Passe to the end of the road. There are no cars. Prettiest section is along Banana Cove. Note: rolling hills!

Run to Anse Source d’Argent (Beach). 7 km out and back, including beach. Some call Anse Source d’Argent ‘the most beautiful beach in the world’. Yes, it’s gorgeous and unique beach, dotted with beautifully sculpted gray granite boulders. From La Passe, run south on a brick-surfaced road for 2.5 km. There are water/beach views, lush foliage, and some small hotels and restaurants. At the end of the road at Vanille-Plantagen (plantation), you’ll have to pay a modest fee to enter the beach. The beach itself is gorgeous and sorta runnable: it’s not all that wide, and is strewn with boulders. Still, it’s an adventure to run among the boulders, and the sand can be situationally firm, depending on season and tides. One can run for ~1 km past the gate to the end of the beach.

Run to Grand Anse Beach. 8.6 km out and back, 142m gain. This is another great run on La Digue, with the destination being a gorgeous, runnable beach! From La Passe, a road runs through the interior of the island for 4.3 km to Grand Anse Beach. It’s a concrete-surfaced road, lined with palms and other lush foliage. The main traffic is bicycles! The beach itself is gorgeous, with nice firm sand for running. It’s 0.5 km long — and possible to combine for another 0.5 km along Petite Anse Beach, but you sort of have to get around the rocky point that separates the two beaches (possible to walk across depending on tides & waves).