The Madagascar of fine, white sandy beaches, of crystal-clear turquoise water that bathes paradisiacal inlets fringed with palm trees and mangroves, and nestles archipelagos of small, still wild islands that smell of ylang-ylang and vanilla. This is north-western Madagascar, with its undisputed gem of Nosy Be, a coveted international destination for postcard-perfect beach holidays.
These are the thousand shades of the Indian Ocean, the sand as fine as talcum powder and the rainforest dominate the colour palette of the Nosy Be archipelago, a small paradise on earth in the far north of the large island of Madagascar. The home of the lemurs reveals here one of its most beautiful marine faces, with its tropical atmosphere and exuberant vegetation. A dozen or so wild islets and atolls, to be reached by small traditional boats, amidst deserted beaches of rare beauty and tongues of sand blinding in the sun, stretches of endemic forests where the lemurs perform acrobatics jumping from one branch to another of the thick green blanket, or chameleons camouflage themselves among the leaves, while hundreds of waterfowl follow the wakes of fishing boats and schools of dolphins mingling with the backs of humpback whales or whale sharks.
If Nosy Be is the main island and the busiest, a few minutes’ boat ride will take you to the most unspoilt and deserted corners of the archipelago, such as Nosy Komba island, where a local ‘fady’, the traditional law, protects the varieties of lemurs that find their natural habitat here, investing them with sacredness according to the beliefs of the indigenous population.
A veritable aquarium is Nosy Tanikely island, declared a protected marine park in 2010, where it is possible to discover the sparkling underwater life of the archipelago with a dive. And for those who love peace and quiet, Nosy Sakatia will be spoilt for choice, between the uninhabited beaches where only dolphins linger on the horizon, and the secluded paths that lead to the interior of the island, to a small naturalistic corner of wild orchids, wild essences, chameleons and multicoloured birds.
But since the 1990s, another seaside resort along Madagascar’s beautiful coastline has attracted the attention of international tourism for its beauty and breathtaking sea scenery. We are in the south-western region of Madagascar, in the stretch of coastline from Tulear to Fort-Dauphin, where a small and remote Vezo fishing village has begun to arouse the interest of those adventurers eager to discover a destination far from the beaten tourist routes, immersed in unspoilt nature and imbued with authentic and traditional atmospheres, which lead the local inhabitants to still deeply respect their ancestors’ cult. This is the village of Anakao, which, although it has recently developed in hotel accommodation, has retained the calm and peace of a traditional resort of local fishermen, who set sail at dawn and return in the evening laden with their catch (famous for their free-diving fishing technique). We are far from the glitzy resorts and palm-shaded equipped beaches, here nature is still the undisputed protagonist, characterised by expanses of fine, wild sand, hemmed in by explosive vegetation, in which the hotel structures or the inhabitants’ wooden huts are only discreet extras, perfectly integrated and camouflaged with the surrounding landscape.
Absolutely a must-visit destination in Madagascar!
