Travel Guide Sambava

Lush vegetation, orchards of jackfruit and mango trees, immense banana plantations, numerous rivers, parma orchids and lilac bougainvilleas, high stone mountains dominating the forest... And then, Sambava. In the heart of the Betsimisaraka region, this small town of 50,000 inhabitants has the scent of vanilla, spices and coconut... In the region, the superb Marojejy National Park provides access to the summit of Maromonkotro, whose 2,133 m offer an unforgettable view of tropical mountains. It's a warm day in Sambava, with temperatures fluctuating between 20°C and 34°C. As in Antalaha, agricultural production is concentrated on vanilla, but an effort to diversify has led to the development of other crops: coffee, pepper, cloves, raffia and wood contribute to regional development. Sambava is also home to one of the world's largest coconut plantations (4,800 ha): the Soavoanio plantation. Here, as in Antalaha, it rains often. There's "rano be", water, water and more water... You need to be equipped accordingly. Sambava had its heyday in 2003. While vanilla used to fetch around US$50 a kilo, European and American speculation pushed the price up to US$500 in just a few months! At the time, this region seemed like an Eldorado for Malagasy farmers. At the time, Sambava was Madagascar's richest city. But this financial frenzy fluctuates: prices sometimes fall from one year to the next, and the cost of living in Sambava has soared. In 2017, the passage of cyclone Enawo made vanilla even more precious, and the price of a pod continued to soar. Vanilla is the only orchid among 28,000 species to produce fruit! The best time to visit the city is from July onwards: freshly-picked pods are everywhere, and their scent perfumes the streets as they dry in the sun. It's too early to buy them, however.The gateway to the Green Triangle. A vanilla-producing region par excellence, the Green Triangle encompasses the towns of Sambava, Antalaha, Vohémar and Andapa: hence its popular name, SAVA. Rarely visited by foreign and domestic tourists alike, and regularly lashed by torrential rains, this small corner of north-east Madagascar offers many opportunities for the adventure-loving traveller. The road infrastructure is among the most convenient in the country.