Madagascar-Eastern Madagascar

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Eastern Madagascar
Why Go?
Moramanga .................. 158
Andasibe Area Parks .....159
Brickaville ......................162
Pangalanes Lakes .........162
Ambila-Lemaitso .......... 166
Tamatave (Toamasina) .167
Mahambo ......................173
Soanierana-Ivongo ........173
Manompana ..................175
Ile Sainte Marie .............175
Ambodifotatra ...............178
Ile aux Nattes
(Nosy Nato) ................... 181
Mananara ..................... 183
Maroantsetra................ 185
Parc National de
Masoala ........................ 188
Eastern Madagascar is travel the way it used to be. There is
a wildness here of primordial allure, from the misty mountains of Masoala, down the huge coastline with its pounding sea and overhanging palms, to the lush alleyways of the
Pangalanes Lakes. When you arrive back home, it all has the
quality of a dream. This part of the country is largely cut off
from the rest, and from itself, by a degraded transportation
network, including some roads out off an engineer’s nightmare. Travelling here requires a combination of plane, car,
4WD, dirt bike, scooter, pirogue (dugout canoe), ferry, cargo
boat, taxi-brousse (bush taxi), and motorboat. This inaccessibility results in isolated communities and, for the traveller, a constant sense of coming upon undiscovered locales,
including entire national parks. There’s no doubt it can be
frustrating at times, but Eastern Madagascar produces more
traveller’s tales than anywhere else. If you value that, come
here first.
When to Go
Best Places to Eat Tamatave (Toamasina)
»
Le Bateau Ivre (p170)
°C/°F Temp
»
Piment Banane (p170)
40/104
20/500
La Pirogue (p173)
30/86
16/400
Idylle Beach (p179)
20/68
12/300
10/50
8/200
0/32
4/100
»
»
Best Places to
Stay
» Princesse Bora Lodge &
Spa (p180)
»
Chez Sika (p181)
»
Masoala Forest Lodge (p189)
»
Ony Hôtel (p166)
»
Le Bon Endroit (p182)
Rainfall inches/mm
0
-10/14
J
F
M
Jun–Oct Vanilla
season. Flights
can be full in the
northeast.
A
M
J
J
A
Jul–Sep Whalewatching in the
Baie d’Antongil
S
O
N
D
Dec–Mar Hold
onto your hat, it’s
cyclone season
Eastern
Madagascar
Highlights
Diego Suarez (Antsiranana)
Matsoandakana
Ambohitralanana
Antsakabary
Cap Est
Antainambalana
River Maroantsetra
Daraina
Ambilobe
Iharana
(Vohémar)
2 Take a cargo
boat through the
Pangalanes Lakes
(p162)
Parc National
de Masoala
Nosy
Mangabe
Nandrasana
Rantabe
Masoala
Baie
d'Antongil Peninsula
Cap Masoala
Mandritsara
Mananara
aye-aye eat a coconut
during a night walk
on Aye-Aye Island
(p184)
Parc National
de Mananara-Nord
An
ov
e
RN5
Rive
r
Manompana
Ambodiatafana
RN5
Ile Sainte Marie
Soanierana-Ivongo
Ambodifotatra
Ile aux Nattes
Route des
Contrebandiers
Amboavory
Lac
Alaotra
Foulpointe (Mahavelona)
ve
Ambatondrazaka
INDIAN
OCEAN
Parc Zoologique
Ivoloina
Ivoloina
River
Tamatave (Toamasina)
o
r
nd
vo
I
RN2
Lac Ampitabe
Pangalanes
Lakes
Parc National
de Mantadia
To Mauritius;
Réunion
Manambato
Brickaville
Réserve de
Torotorofotsy
Ambila-Lemaitso
Marovoay
To Antananarivo
(30km) Moramanga
Parc
Mitsinjo
Vohibola
Reserve
Vohimana Forest
Andasibe
Mahay Mitia Ala (MMA)
Réserve de
0
Maromizaha
Parc National
0
d’Andasibe
Vatomandry
6 See breaching
humpbacks on a
whale-watching trip
(p180)
8 Stay in an
Mahambo
r
5 Camp out on the
tropical jungle island
of Nosy Mangabe
(p188)
7 Explore the
island of Ile Sainte
Marie (p177) by quad
or dirt bike
Fenoarivo-Atsinanana
(Fénérive Est)
i
Parc National
eR
de Zahamena Onib
3 Drive the
infamous RN5
(p175) from
Soanierana-Ivongo to
Maroantsetra
4 Watch the elusive
Sahasoa
Aye-Aye Island
1 Hear the wail
of the indri in Parc
National d’Andasibe
(p159)
E ASTERN MADAGASCAR
ὈὈὈὈ
Ὀ
ὈὈ
ὈὈ
ὈὈὈ
1 57
100 km
60 miles
ecolodge at Parc
National de Masoala
(p189)
9 Do absolutely
nothing on Ile aux
Nattes (p181)