Madagascar — Where to Go
Top Things to See
• Witness the distinctively French flavor and atmosphere of the capital, Antananarivo, often abbreviated to Tana. French is widely spoken, and road and shop signs are mostly in French. The city is built on three levels.
• View the capital’s national monument, the Queen’s Palace and associated Royal Village or Rova. It was once the residency of the Merina Dynasty which, in the 19th century, united all of Madagascar for the first time.
• See the birthplace of the Malagasy state, Ambohimanga. The citadel’s structures reveal its heritage as an important Merina stronghold. Its main gate is an enormous stone disc which needed 40 men to roll it into position. Known variously as ‘the blue city’, ‘the holy city’ and ‘the forbidden city’, it is surrounded by forests.
• Glimpse Madagascar’s second-highest mountain, Tsiafajovona, from the country’s main industrial center, Antsirabe, also known as Andasibe. The town has a thermal spa and is surrounded by volcanic hills that are dotted with crater lakes.
• Enjoy the views in the Hauts Plateaux, a chain of rugged, ravine-riven mountains that run from north to south down the center of Madagascar, in the Central Highlands.
• See how the lush north is dominated by great mountains, including Tsarantanana, the island’s highest at 2,880m (9,450ft), which is covered with the giant ferns and lichens peculiar to high-altitude rainforests.
• Take in the vibrant sights of Madagascar’s lively markets. Toamasina is the country’s main port and a provincial capital with several busy markets, including the Bazary Be. In Antananarivo, the daily Zoma Market claims to be the second-largest in the world.
• See the wonderful arts and crafts in Fianarantsoa, an important center for wine and rice production and a good base for exploring the southern highlands, and the Zafimaniny village, where intricate marquetry products are made.
Top Things to Do
• Explore the impressive national parks and nature reserves. In Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are home to a variety of rare and endangered birds and lemurs. Rocky landscapes and limestone uplands are cut into large peaks with a mass of limestone needles.
• Don’t miss Ampefy, a volcanic region with spectacular waterfalls and geysers or Perinet, a nature reserve that is home of the indri (a tail-less lemur) and many species of orchid.
• Find more orchids and lemurs at Montagne d’Arbre (1,500m/4,900ft), a national park famous for them. More wildlife awaits in the Ivolina Zoological Park and Botanical Gardens, which contains every kind of vegetable species from the eastern forests.
• Go diving at the main centers of Nossi Bé, Nossi Lava, Toliara and Ile Ste-Marie. Many offer beautiful white sand beaches and coral reefs. Scuba-diving centers are located on the north and west coasts.
• Try waterskiing or sailing at Ambohibao (Lake Mantasoa), Antsiralse (on Andraikiba Lake) and Ramona. River-rafting can be done in the Highlands and on the East Coast.
• Explore Nossi Bé and its neighboring islands of Nossi Mitsio, Nossi Radama and Tanikely. Exotic perfume plants such as ylang-ylang, vanilla, lemongrass and patchouli are grown here.
• Relax on some of the excellent beaches. Antseranana is a cosmopolitan seaport overlooking a beautiful gulf at the northernmost tip of the island with many lakes, waterfalls and grottoes. There are more fine grottoes at Anjohibe.
• Dabble in the macabre and visit the fascinating Amabalavao, said to be the ‘home of the departed’, where antemore paper and lamba aridrano silk are made. Whilst there, see the Ambondrome and Ifandana crags (the site of a mass suicide in 1811), where the revered bones of exhumed ancestors lie.
