Nosy Be
(Nosy = island ; Be = big ; Nosy Be = big island)

is the largest island lying off the Malagasy coast, in the Mozambique Channel. Also known as « The perfumed island » because of the production of perfumed essence from the ylang-ylang tree : the yellow-flowering tree and other plantations. You can smell it as soon as you arrive at Nosy Be airport. The island has 24 Km of length & 18 Km of wide. 2250 mm of rain per year. Nosy Be lies at 15 Km from Madagascar. And it is at 900 Km from Antananarivo by road. Nosy Be is a volcanic island, so it has several crater lakes, because of that Nosy Be is a fertile land. People grow sugar cane, coffee, vanilla, pepper, saffron & ylang-ylang.

The highest points there are Mont Passot ( 329 m -A good spot to wait sunset & to take in the far- ranging view ) and Mont Lokobe ( 420 m - A nature reserve with endemic Madagascar snakes such as boa constrictors, with endemic Madagascar lemurs such as black lemurs & sportive lemurs and with some endemic birds species ). The first inhabitants came around 1800 and Nosy Be became « The perfumed island » since 1903 : date which the yellow-flowering ylang-ylang tree was introduced by M. Rimbard. Nosy Be is the best place for diving in Madagascar. The best months to do it are from April to July & September to November ; and the best regions are Nosy Sakatia & Nosy Tanihely ( the little island ) : a protected marine reserve with coral, spiny lobsters, eels, marine green turtles & myriad colourful fishes. The two main towns are :

Hell ville
is the capital and main port of Nosy Be. Hell ville is a little town with a lot of sailing typical dug-out canoes, cargo boats, car ferries and catamarans. Sometimes with large and huge international luxurious-cruise-ships. Nosy Be is the first tourist area of Madagascar. You can also see there, ruin of french colonial buildings and a lot of handicrafts souvenirs.

Dzamanjary
with its sugar and rum refinery, Dzamanjary is the most important sugar cane plantation in Madagascar ( 600 ha, 12 000 t of sugar per year and 900 000 litres of rum annually - some years ago ). So, one of the main activities in Nosy Be are sugar cane transformation, crayfish collection, tourism and ylang-ylang transformation. Nosy Be is surrounded by several smaller lovely islands such as : Nosy Komba, Nosy Tanihely, Nosy Sakatia, Nosy Mitsio ( the rarely visited island with its archipelago - On one of them, you can admire the impressive natural basalt formation : « The Organ Pipes » ).

Diego Suarez, in the extreme North of Madagascar

is a little town ( 100 000 inhabitants ) in the extreme North of Madagascar. The principal activities are agriculture, sea salt exploitation, tuna fishing & tourism. The name : Diego Suarez comes from an amalgamation of the names of two Portuguese sailors : Diego Diaz, who first landed on Madagascar in August 1500, and Hernan Soarez, who arrived six years later ( in 1506 ).

Diego Suarez or « Antsiranana » = the port, was a good strategic spot since 1884. The French established a naval base here in the late 19th century ( until 1973 ). Today Antsiranana is an important harbour. There are some beautiful bays there, such as Ramena bay, Sakalava bay, Dunes bay & the emerald sea. Talking about tourism, the highlights are the Amber Mountain National Parc with its waterfalls & the Tsingy of Ankarana ( limestone formations ) with its caves and grottoes.

The Tsingy of Ankarana Natural Reserve, in the extreme North of Madagascar :

Is at 110 Kms at the South of Diégo Suarez and between 50 et 409 m of altitude. The weather is hot & dry ( 1890 mm/year of rain ). When you knock this rock, you can hear : [Tsi:n], it's the reason of its name : the " Tsingy ". This rock formation has begun 200 million years ago ; so it's a jurassic calcareous rock formation. For more informations, click on the Tsingy of Bemaraha.

You can find the same Amber Mountain mammals, lemurs & reptiles there ( see below ). They live in dry forests. But you will see other kinds of birds such as Madagascar pygmy kingfisher Ispidina madagascariensis, Crested coua Coua cristata, Malagasy scops-owl Otus rutilus, Collared nightjar Caprimulgus enarratus, Madagascar nightjar Caprimulgus madagascariensis, Stonechat Saxicola torquata, Madagascar cisticola Cisticola cherina, Madagascar partridge Margaroperdrix madagascariensis, Madagascar crested ibis Lophotibis cristata, Madagascar blue pigeon Alectroenas madagascariensis, etc. Things to see : an extensive cave system which includes fascinating bat-filled grottoes ( one of the longest cave system in Africa - more than 110 Kms ), green lakes, superb stalactites, stalagmites & other formations and the pot-hole of Mahamasina ( a big hole in rock worn away by water at the East part of Ankarana Reserve ).

The Amber Mountain National Park, in the extreme North of Madagascar :

Is at 35 Kms from Diégo Suarez ( 1700 mm/year of rain ), with altitude between 800 and 1475 m and with 3585 mm/year of rain ( one of the rainiest region of Madagascar ). The weather is hot around the mountain, but cool inside. It's a microclimate created by the Tsaratanana massif. So, the Amber Mountain gives water to the whole region.

A paradise for birdwatchers, you can find in this tropical forest a lot of birds such as Malagasy kingfisher Alcedo vintsioides, Madagascar blue pigeon Alectroenas madagascariensis, Madagascar paradise flycatcher Tersiphone mutata or Souimanga sunbird Nectarinia souimanga etc. You can find too reptiles ( such as Madagascar tree boa Sanzinia madagascariensis, chameleons Brookesia sp. & Furcifer sp., leaf-tailed geckos Uroplatus fimbriatus, and other geckos such as Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis ), lemurs ( Sanfordi brown lemur Eulemur fulvus sanfordi, Crowned lemur Eulemur coronatus, etc ) & little carnivorous ( Ringtailed mongoose Galidia elegans or the " fosa " Cryptoprocta ferox ). This prominent volcanic massif has 5 lakes of crater, some waterfalls & streams and viewpoints.

Is based in northern part of Madagascar, around Diego Suarez. They are peasants and fishermen. They grow rice and breed zebus ( oxen with a hump ) and most of them are Muslims ( descendants of Arabic sailors, African & Indian traders ), the others practise the religion of the ancestors with its traditional rites. The name " Antakarana " means " Those from the Cliffs ". That means, those from the high rock of the Tsingy. Historians say that the Antakarana were, a long time ago, Sakalava people. One of their chief has leaded them from the north-west to the north Madagascar.

Holidays to the perfumed big island, Diego Suarez and its whole area,

Do you want to visit another world ? I suggest you Madagascar and its nature, its people, its Parks and Nature Reserves. Madagascar, the kingdom of lemurs, the kingdom of baobabs and the kingdom of chameleons. With our experiences since ... 1993, we will give you excellent advice. To organise your trip and to guide you to make your trip pleasing and unforgetable. Thank's alot for your trust.

Through wonderful beaches, through evergreen humid forests, through montane rainforests, through baobab forests and deciduous dry forests, and through savanna and euphorbia scrub. Madagascar, a big island which lies in the Indian Ocean, eastern of Africa.

Madagascar is becoming a new ecological tour lovers destination.

The north is home to the Antakarana people. They follow many ancient traditions, their ancestors playing a central role in their society. An air of mystery is created by their traditional ceremonies and in their sacred areas which house the spirits of the ancestral princes. In the far north, Diego Suarez ( also known as Antsiranana ) is situated in a picturesque bay, encircled by hills. The changes in climate there create many varieties of flora and fauna, making this region particularly interesting to botanists and naturalists.