Ylang-Ylang Distilleries & Perfume Island Aromatics
Follow the ylang-ylang trail around Grande Comore — the Comoro Islands supply most of the world's ylang-ylang essential oil, the key ingredient in Chanel No. 5
- 1
Ylang-Ylang Plantation Walk
Long-petaled yellow ylang-ylang flowers are hand-picked at dawn before the heat destroys their volatile oils — join the morning harvest in plantations near Moroni
- 2
Traditional Copper Still Distillery
Handpicked flowers are loaded into wood fired copper pots and steam distilled for 8-12 hours to extract the precious golden essential oil
- 3
Vanilla Plantation Tour
Grand Comore also produces hand-pollinated Bourbon vanilla — the labor-intensive process of cross-pollinating each flower individually by hand
- 4
Clove and Cinnamon Gardens
A spice garden near the village of Ntsoudjini grows cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom – a living pharmacy of aromatics from the Indian Ocean
- 5
Perfume Blending Workshop
A small cooperative offers visitors the chance to mix their own perfume with locally distilled essential oils — ylang-ylang, vetiver and patchouli
- 6
Village Artisan Market
In the villages north of Moroni, there are women's cooperatives selling hand-distilled ylang-ylang oil, vanilla extract and cinnamon bundles at farmgate prices