Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Madagascar

Whale watching is the star activity from mid-June to early October. All hotels offer this excursion. The^2nd outing is often offered at a discount, because one outing is not enough: the spectacle is so beautiful! Choose a service provider affiliated with Cétamada, so you can board a quality boat that respects the code of conduct, and be well guided. More info at Cétamada headquarters, on the port (documentaries, local crafts, etc.). Recommended providers: Princesse Bora Lodge & Spa, Libertalia, and Maningory (Île aux Nattes).

This private reserve of 35 ha houses seven species of lemurs at liberty (Indri indri is also present), reptiles, amphibians, crocodiles… Palms of all kinds abound. They can be reached by boat.

Idom'Art refers to a collective of artisan markers whose work is valued by Maud Brun, who since 2015 has helped them make a living from their talent. With a know-how that has been passed down for three generations, strength, patience and meticulousness, the cutters and finishers create unique, absolutely beautiful works. Maud accompanies them in the choice of wood, the research of new models, the marketing, the organization of exhibitions. If you have a couple of hours to spare, you can learn how to cut on the spot with a craftsman.

Initiated by the Association Man and the Environment, this project supports the conservation and sustainable management programme of the Vohibola Forest. In the programme: visit of the fishing village of Andranokoditra, discovery of the distillery and the process of manufacturing essential oils, walking by canoe, discovery of the interpretive trail and useful plants of the forest of Vohibola… Possibility to sleep in the living room.

Conservation - Education. The association manages the Vohibola forest and develops conservation programs with the local population.

Local population. Recruitment and training of local guides, income input for local populations.

To get there, you should leave the coastal road to the right from Hell City, on the road to Ambatoloaka (beautiful teak forest). We cross the village of Antsaholana, which is guarded by a jealous eye of immense kapokiers, and then that of Arapale where in season you enjoy excellent mangoes. From the summit (329 m), the view is splendid: several crater lakes (including that of Amparibe and that of Anjabe) extend into the green. These lakes are sacred. They are inhabited by the minds of sakalavas princes. If you do, remember that on their banks it is fady (forbidden) to fish, smoke, eat pork, and wear trousers! Sunsets are great, don't hesitate to stay on the spot for a good half hour to enjoy beautiful and moving colored arabesques.

Infrastructure has been set up recently: health, stalls and guidance table with long views. Rails and stairs were rehabilitated.

Antemoro paper is made from avoha, a tree bark that exists only on the east coast of Mada. It was used by the Arabs for centuries to write "sorabe". Today, the avoha fibers are boiled for about 12 hours, then crushed once cooked and mixed with water. We finish by draining the water so that the paste adheres to the fabric of the frame placed on the tray. Finally, flower petals are placed on the still wet paper.

We can watch the work of the craftsmen who build recycled aluminum pots - unique to Madagascar - (one man can produce about twenty a day) or other decorative objects. We witness the entire manufacturing process from casting to polishing, including molding and stripping. This craft represents today 75% of the activity of the city, some workshops manufacture table soccer and billiards. In front of the restaurant Au rendez-vous des pêcheurs, Romeo exhibits some interesting creations.

At the entrance of the village, this workshop proposes to discover the different stages of silk transformation, from the tree to the silky and colored scarf. The visit begins in the courtyard where you can observe the difference between wild and farmed silk, both present in Mada. The women of the workshop then show you how to cook, spin and dye it before arriving at the very impressive stage of weaving. A very interesting visit! A store open 7 days a week allows you to buy some souvenirs.

A family workshop where you can admire a craftsman marker at work; dazzling! You will be warmly welcomed by Charlotte and her husband. Call first to inform you of your arrival and make sure they are present, their workshop is on their place of residence. After the demonstration, you will be kindly directed to the small shop that displays the beautiful fruit of their work. It was a necessary passage, difficult to leave empty-handed.

This large, sale village offers some cheap gargotes where take a drink, and a very lively local discotheque that we like more than the tourist bars of Ambatoloaka: Bananas, very animated on Friday and Saturday evenings. The sugar cane production centre is now closed. This distillery, bought in Brazil, completely dismantled and rebuilt here in 1923, invited the traveller to enter an atmosphere beginning in the century, black and warm, sweet, all wood. For your purchases of rum, it is now elsewhere that you have to see!

In the surrounding area we recommend a nice walk to the Cascade waterfall. It is best to be accompanied by a child from the village, who will be happy to show you the way with a small welcome. To get there, you must take the road from the distillery, go beyond drainage basins and then take the small bridge; we are still on the same road to the operation of Ylang-ylang and Hassanaly sugar cane; after crossing the hangars, you divide into the south towards the waterfall. 40 min walk from the bridge. Beware, it is a sacred place, so it is a respectful attitude.

Mado la Camerounaise offers a truly fascinating tour of the Millot plantations, created by Lucien Millot at the beginning of the ^20th century. The French chocolate maker Valrhona bought 40% of the plantation and mainly grows cocoa, which is exported to the best restaurants in the world, but also spices (pepper, allspice, combava, etc.), vanilla, lemongrass, patchouli, vetiver, ravintsara and ylang-ylang. It is possible to have lunch on the spot (La Maison du Planteur): table d'hôtes atmosphere and meal according to the inspiration (fish with combava, chicken coconut, chicken carry, ravitoto and dessert... with chocolate of course!) Mado also offers simple but comfortable guest rooms. The visit is very enriching and allows you to meet the employees and to see the different stages of the cocoa harvest, from the tree to the finishing (just before exporting) through the drying and maceration... This is why the visits take place in the morning. You will also have the opportunity to discover the process of distillation of essential oils. We do not hide it to you, Mado has a sacred character (that passes or that breaks, we adore it!). She has the merit of employing 600 people (and covering the social benefits of their families) and just to support this sumptuous social and economic life, a stop in the Millot plantation is particularly recommended!

The plantations of Sahambavy (355 ha, of which 94 are managed by the farmers) are located in a very pleasant setting: a nice half-day walk, or even a little more. It is an excellent tea, very British, born in 1978 and exploited since 1996 by a limited company, Sidexam. About 20 tons of leaves are produced per day, picked by hand (between 50 and 100 kg per person); 5 kg of leaves give about 1 kg of tea, after no less than 5 processing steps. Almost all the production is exported (at least 80%), to Kenya.

It's the highest point on Nosy Be, with a peak of 329 m, and the view is splendid: the sunsets are grandiose, so don't hesitate to stay and enjoy the view, even if you're not alone! From the top, you can see several crater lakes stretching through the greenery; they are said to be inhabited by the spirits of the Sakalava princes. Don't forget that on their shores it's fady to fish, smoke or wear pants! Two circuits: one 4 km to Antsahamanavaka, the other 6 km to sacred Lake Amparihibe.

The palm grove of Ivondro is an agro-touristic domain belonging to the Savonnerie Tropicale S.A. You will be able to make half-day tours including the visit of the oil palm plantation, the discovery of tropical products (vanilla, coffee, banana, clove, cinnamon...), the betsimsaraka handicrafts, cultural excursions, bird watching and finally the visit of a mini-sugar factory... On the spot, you will find a good restaurant which proposes products made with coconut. A beautiful excursion.

An original discovery, less than two kilometers from the road to Betafo. Created in 1947, the brewery produces THE favorite beer of the Malagasy people: the THB Pilsener. The largest brewery in the Indian Ocean, its annual production is around one million hectoliters. It is part of the STAR group, a subsidiary of the French group Castel since 2011. It will take you about an hour and a half for the visit, note that a special outfit (pants and closed shoes, not always obvious in hot weather) is required.

In Diego, whether in the warmth of the morning or the softness of the late afternoon, you have to relearn how to stroll... Flooded with sunshine, the streets of the city center are lined with colonial houses with faded facades in pastel shades of blue, pink, sienna or green. Traces of history, the beauty of buildings, the elegance of a drape, the fire of a look - there's so much to contemplate! The most successful example of colonial architecture is the string of colonnades on rue Colbert. Starting at Place Foch and following this artery, you'll find a succession of colonial-style buildings, with their flower-filled balconies and verandas. Take particular note of the beautiful Alliance française building. Rue Colbert ends in Rue Richelieu. At the intersection of these streets, you'll find an imposing colonial-style residence surrounded by ravenalas, the governor's residence in colonial times. Today, it is the seat of a territorial administration. Further on, frozen in oblivion, an imposing ochre-colored building, the ex-Hôtel de la Marine, a luxury establishment from the colonial period, lines its porticoes, arcades and arabesques. Overgrown with trees, this ghost of the past faces the immense, wind-swept bay. It exudes a strange atmosphere. The call to prayer echoes from the small white mosque nearby. In Diego, Chinese temples, churches and mosques are good neighbors. Continuing on to Place Clemenceau, you come to the bandstand. White columns lining the bay of Antsiranana bear witness to a bygone era. Further on, at the end of Rue Gourand, Place de l'Amiral Ronarch, adorned with a statue of Marshal Joffre, offers another perspective on the great harbor. In the foreground are mountains of containers, shipyard cranes and cargo ships awaiting unloading, while on the horizon, the jagged ridges of the creeks reveal themselves. This is where the most important port facilities begin. Diego offers a variety of atmospheres: elegant Sakalava women, old Comorian men in babouches, wearing fez and djellaba... A stroll through the popular Tanambao district is a must, with its stores of all kinds, its houses of wood and tin. At the end of boulevard Sylvain Roux, at the corner of the roads leading either to Ramena or to the airport, the Commonwealth military cemetery is a moving site where British, Indian and African soldiers lie buried, victims of the fighting against the Petainist administration in 1942. Their sacrifice enabled Mada to join Free France.

At the end of the day, make your way to the "plateau of tombs", where villas shelter between trees and flowers. From the top of the administrative block building, you have a panoramic view of the eastern districts: a white, ochre and vermilion city, lost in an ocean of greenery. We also love Amborovy beach. The seafront promenade, known as "le bord", is very lively and crowded during the vacations. Everyone loves to meet up on this local "croisette", in front of the old baobab tree (which takes on unexpected colors).

The British NGO Blue Ventures is the best reef database in the Western Indian Ocean region. Collecting data since 2004, it attests the state of the reef and develops aquaculture projects in the south. Sea trips are possible every day with volunteers. In partnership with Blue Ventures, the fishermen organize activities: lodging with local people, whale watching in season, trips to the baobab forest, snorkeling with a guide, mangrove tours on foot, gasy cooking classes, etc.

The superb bay is located at 1 hour walk from Belo, or a little less (depending on the weather) by sailing dugout. This arm of the sea goes into the mangrove, where dhows go to the salt port to wait and take on board the bags of salt coming from the salt mines. At the entrance of the bay, the calm and deep water allows for beautiful observations of the sea bed. Opposite, a small vezo hamlet offers a pleasant stop. It is the occasion for a magnificent half-day trip at sea, for example with the very professional Niro, whose services we recommend!

Hiking in the extraordinary Makay massif, and moreover, crossing it, allows to discover different types of terrains. The most characteristic are the deep canyons and rectilinear faults that cut into the mountains. The canyons are due to the erosion of the yellow sandstone plateaus by water, and they form real labyrinths. The treks rush along steep corridors, sometimes very narrow, in limpid water on a more or less soft sandy bottom. The coolness and the humidity maintain a rather dense vegetation. To reach these canyons, it is often necessary to cross heaps of rocks, tree trunks, pockets of vegetation which obstruct the entrance. The progression is very slow: it is necessary to have a great sense of balance, to be flexible, agile and nimble, the risk of falls is great. The exit of the canyons is not simple either. To reach the plateau, the ascent is slow along the wall, the rock is crumbly; each step, each hold must be secured. Some segments are secured with ropes.

On the plateau, an imposing landscape is discovered. The term "earth's crust" finds its full meaning: summits, ridges, nipples as far as the eye can see... These plateaus are rarely flat, it goes up and down all the time. It can be very hot. The ground is covered with round, oval pebbles that hinder the walk. Then the large plates of very rough sandstone which are covered with the plateaus catch well. On the other hand, the hands suffer when it is a question of leaning or holding on to this type of rock. Beautiful meadows of golden grass also cover these plateaus. It will be necessary to avoid the "karibo", these small brambles of the same color as the grass, which violently scratch the ankles and the calves. Canvas pants are recommended.

Then we discover the saka-saka. They are successions of ascents and descents on the side of hills which can be painful. Sometimes we have to go around them by the top, but very often there is no other choice than to go down to the bottom of these small valleys, to enter the vegetation, to go up again at once. We still cross pockets of dry forests. They are quite frequent. It is in this environment that we can see lemurs. The gidro(fulvus fulvus) and the sifaka (white sifaka) live there. We specify "see", because these animals are not used to human presence here, the observation is very difficult and the photography almost impossible.

In these forests, no paths, it is with the machete that we advance. It is frequently necessary to bend, straddle and struggle with a rather invasive vegetation. Beware here of the sneaky attacks of the "takilotra" this ugly hairy bean whose very volatile hairs scratch terribly. It is the dread of the carriers, they will know how to detect them and show them to you in order to avoid them.

Few fauna in the massif. Besides lemurs, we can see lizards, chameleons, some rare small snakes, always harmless and birds such as kites or striped polyboroids.

Practical advice

The altitude in Makay is never important, between 400 and 900 meters. The summit of the massif culminates at 1,000 meters. The difference in altitude can be a maximum of 200 to 300 meters for a single day. The climbs are often steep, even very steep, and the effort although short is intense.

The rivers are numerous. The massif is surrounded by three large rivers: to the west the Morondava, to the south the Mangoky, to the east the Sakena. All the other rivers are tributaries.

The shoes will have to be made of canvas in order to dry quickly, high to hold the ankle, with good gripping soles. But the sand is tenacious! And the "special Makay" shoe remains to be invented!

An important part of the success of this kind of trek is the presence of a team of porters and a local guide. Do not bring more than 12 kg for the porters, who must also take care of the cooking and camping equipment, and 5 kg for your day bag. During this trek, you must be in total autonomy. Only a few villages around the massif have a grocery store, or even a weekly market.

The bivouacs are often set up on the sandbanks near the water. It is thus possible, almost every evening, to wash, to bathe but also to make a small washing - where from the uselessness to bring too many clothes. Evenings near the water can be cool. Therefore, bring a good quality comforter and a fleece. Bring a repellent, even if there are not many mosquitoes.

The water in the canyons, valleys and rivers is fed by numerous springs. The water is clear and drinkable. However, always have Micropur or Hydroclonazone on hand.

Finally, don't forget hat or cap, sunglasses, walking stick, sun cream, flashlight (+ batteries) and a second or third battery for your cameras.

To see, to read. You absolutely must see the film Makay, les aventuriers du monde perdu, written by Evrard Wendenbaum. Read also A la découverte du dernier éden, published by La Martinière (with 28 unpublished images in 3D). Obviously, we do not recommend you to try this adventure alone, on the contrary. The agency listed below is the one we recommend to live an exceptional adventure!