Roche Grand Maman - Inner Islands

Roche Grand Maman is one of those sites that just feels right, a solid favourite of ours in the Inner Islands. You drop onto a granite boulder landscape, a classic Seychelles feel, but with a surprising amount of detail packed into the cracks and crevices. We love drifting along here, letting the gentle surge nudge us past the coral growth, which tends to favour the robust plate and brain corals on the exposed faces. Keep your eyes peeled low. This isn't a big pelagic site, though we’ve seen the occasional curious pacific cornetfish glide past. Instead, it’s all about the smaller stuff. We’ve spent ages watching the little shouldermark eviota darting among the rocks, and those ostrich gobies are just charming. Look for candy cane wrasse zipping through the coral heads, their colours really pop against the granite. You'll also spot blackspot surgeonfish schooling up, and the honeycomb morays are often peeking out from their rocky hideaways. We always find a few arthritic spider conchs trundling along the sandy patches between the boulders. It’s a site that rewards a slow pace and an observant eye, great for photographers who like to focus on macro and medium-sized reef fish without fighting strong currents.

Location
Inner Islands, Seychelles, Indian Ocean & East Africa
Coordinates
-4.289915, 55.685783

Marine Protected Area: Booby Island

Best Time to Dive in Inner Islands

The warmest water temperatures in Inner Islands occur in April, averaging 30.4°C. The coolest conditions are in August at 26.6°C.

Monthly Water Temperatures

  • January: 28.7°C
  • February: 29.0°C
  • March: 29.8°C
  • April: 30.4°C
  • May: 29.8°C
  • June: 28.5°C
  • July: 26.8°C
  • August: 26.6°C
  • September: 27.4°C
  • October: 28.3°C
  • November: 29.0°C
  • December: 29.1°C

Nearby Dive Sites in Inner Islands

Nearest Dive Centres to Roche Grand Maman

Marine Life in Inner Islands

Home to 184 recorded species including 156 reef fish, 8 hard corals, 6 sharks & rays, 5 sea snails & nudibranchs, 4 whales & dolphins, 2 other.

Notable Species

Recommended Packing List for Roche Grand Maman

Based on average water temperature of 28.6°C, currents 11 cm/s.

  • Shorty or Rashguard - warm 29°C water needs minimal exposure protection
  • Mask - essential for every dive
  • Fins
  • BCD - buoyancy compensator
  • Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
  • Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
  • Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
  • Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
  • Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories