Anse Cocos

Anse Cocos is on the east coast of La Digue, reached by a path that starts at Grand Anse and climbs over a granite headland through takamaka and coconut. There is no road, no sign at the far end, and no way to arrive except on foot.

It belongs to the quiet half of an island otherwise defined by one very famous beach. Anse Source d'Argent on the west coast takes almost every visitor; the east coast beaches — Grand Anse, Petite Anse, Anse Cocos — take the swell, have no facilities and are correspondingly empty. The walk between them is the reason, and it filters the crowd effectively.

The beach is white coral sand between granite outcrops, with the open Indian Ocean in front of it. That matters: the reef does not shelter this coast, and the current here is genuinely dangerous — people have drowned. What makes Anse Cocos usable is a natural rock pool at the northern end, formed by boulders, where the water is calm and shallow and swimming is safe. The pool is formed by granite boulders that close off the northern corner almost completely, leaving water a metre or so deep that warms through the day; it is the only place on the east coast of La Digue where swimming is straightforward.

There is nothing built beyond a small seasonal drinks stall that may or may not be open. No shade structures, no water, no lifeguard, no phone signal worth relying on.

Forty minutes over rock and root each way, and then a beach with a current strong enough to kill and a rock pool at the eastern end that is the only safe swimming on this coast. Swim in the pool. The walk is the reason the beach is empty and is also the reason nobody will reach you quickly.