excursions in tamatave

The city owes its name to a small anecdote : when for the first time the king Radama the 1st arrived in front of the sea and tasted it , he cried »toa masina ! »- it is salted !- it was in 1817.
It is the first autonomous port of Madagascar . And Toamasina counts important industrial companies notably the oil refinery which provides fuel to the whole country. Criss-crossed by large straight boulevards the city opens easily on the one hand on the roadstead of Toamasina and on the other hand on the bay of Ivondro .
Because of its geographical situation , the city is well watered and therefore embellished by a great variety of flora . It bénifits also from the refreshing breath of the trade wind that lessens the humid heat of tropical regions.
The city unfortunately is frequently visited by cyclones during the rainy season which fortunately does by no means lessen its charm with its multicolored ricksaws that cross continuously the city and the « bazary » - markets - very animated in the morning when the fish arrives .

The regional museum

The regional museum which represents the Betsimisaraka culture with its customs and traditions. Entry free of charges.

A small island off Toamasina , approximately one hour by boat . The reefs that surround the islet allow beautiful divings with mask and palms .But the connection is to be organized.

Situated 11km to the north , it is a zoological and botanical garden where one can observe the lemurs living in partial liberty , tortoises , snakes , birds and frogs of all sorts . Due to the road conditions that is in fact a track the best means of transport to go there would be The VTT .At about 300m , taking this same track , one discovers the tomb of the king Jean René, a mulatto slave trader who imposed his powers on the east coast .

Mahavelona , Foulpointe for the French : approximately 60 km of Toamasina.
It is a magnificent place bordered with a fine sand beach protected by a coral barrier that allows holydaymakers to play without fear in the sea.
In the plain that spreads between the village and the sea stand the ruins of the Hova fortress dating back 1814. The surrounding walls of this fortress made of an ingenious mixture of sand , shells and eggs appear imposing . Old cannons still bear the arms of the queen Ranavalona III.

85 km to the north
with its beautiful beaches , the area offers an ideal setting for some days of relax and the dense vegetation forming a background screen ensures a certain intimacy all the more because the deep and clean lagoon make the swim agreeable .

Situated to 16km of Mahambo ,it is a small eastern typical city with its main arterial road bordered with palm trees. It lives mainly on cultures intended to the export such the peppers , the clove, the vanilla.

To go to Mananjary , the barge goes first through Ankanin'ny Nofy ( nest of dream ),a very calm seaside resort on the lake Ampitabe ; 2km from there is the private reserve of Antsirikahaloto where can be discovered the most beautiful chameleons of the island as well as multicolored lizards and fluorescent batrachians ; as for the flora, one can discover there rare palm trees nursery and succulent plant gathering 70% of species existing in Madagascar.

Then one goes through Ambila Lemaintso , an other small seaside resort , holiday spot of the well to do people of the capital . It is the same for its small neighbouring sister Manambato by the lake Rasoabe .
A place at the end of the world to forget all the rest . The beach is propitious to the swim and the nautical sport.

The barge goes through Vatomandry ,more important with its graphite , then more to the south Mahanoro and finally Nosivarika (the lemurs island ) before reaching the city of Mananjary, commercially important with its waterage port and its outlet on the Pangalane Channel . But on the other hand it is also the capital of the Antambahoaka tradition, in fact it is there that the Sambatra ceremony (the collective circumcision) is celebrated every five years. Not far to the interior of earth , to approximately 141 km, there is the spa of Ranomafana as well as its primary forest which is worth to be visited.

The places of interests