- From to the North part of Madagascar -
Antsiranana, Diego Suarez


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.

 


Ankarana Reserve : the pot-hole of Mahamasina © & Crowned lemurs ©
( Ravo's pictures : January 2004 ) ©

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 Red Tsingy - Baobab A. suarezensis - Crowned Lemur - 2004 Ravo's Pictures ©

 

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.

Finally, always in this northern Madagascar, we advise you to rest at Ankify before to continue to Nosy Be ( another pleasant-looking region with numerous offshore islands & islets ). Because Ankify is not only a little port for boats & ferries between the Malagasy coast and Nosy Be, but Ankify is too a quiet abandoned beach with a not rough sea. Ankify lies at 250 Kms south from Antsiranana = Diego Suarez.

This itinerary travels to the northern point of the island to discover forests, waterfalls, lakes, caves, beaches, lemurs and the very special Tsingy of Ankarana.

 

The ANTAKARANA tribe, in the extreme North of Madagascar :

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 destination for ecological tour lovers, for discovery tour lovers & for trekking tour lovers.

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.

For more information, you can write to the following people. They have alot of experiences about travel and big travel. I have had the opportunity to meet them, I was their tour guide during their trip in Madagascar. Thanks alot to them to permit me to put their names and adresses on this web site. Don't hesitate to contact them and thank you so much :

MM. Richard and Cathy Condon : richardcondon@clearwire.be
MM. Rene and Janine Weemaels : reneweemaels@hotmail.com
MM. Erik and Colette Segers :

This last person ( Erik Segers ) has written in « LinkedIn » :
If you want to discover Madagascar, Ravo is your man to organise your trip from A to Z. Thanks to his deep knowledge and boundless enthusiasm we had a truly first class visit of this wonderful island. Without a doubt, I do recommend, wholeheartedly.

Another person says, always in « LinkedIn » :
Ravo is an all-round tour guide and entirely devoted to his clients. Ravo will take care of everything, methodically and professionally. It’s with immense pleasure that I will ask him once more to guide me through his magnificent island, Madagascar ( Emmanuel Leborgne - Canada )

 

Clients' Testimony after their holidays in the North of Madagascar :

 

 
Dear Ravo,
... What to say, there’s so much ! ... First, a certainty we quickly acquired of trust, whatever the local conditions or situations. A certainty of being surrounded not only by professionals, but also by reliable and attentive friends ! A good feeling that the services rendered were totally free of all financial concerns, knowing well the living conditions in Mada ( Madagascar ) how they are ! ... Diégo Suarez, Nosy Be, the North of Madagascar, where tourism is still in its infancy, you had to improvise from one end to another. For instance the scarcity of finding places to stay, etc. Here, you surpassed yourself, everything was perfect ! ... And how wonderful to have found those unforgettable sites when I was 20 : Majunga and its baobab, Diégo Suarez and its magnificent bay ( second to none after Rio, according to me ), the old marine base Orangéa, a site of post-cataclysmic appearance, as if copied from an album of the great cartoonist Enki Billal. What else to say except a kindness at any and all moments, adjusting the group according to age or tiredness, a constant helping hand to cross difficult passageways ! A certainty as well that if one day we’d love to bump along the red tracks of Mada ( Madagascar ) again, we would be welcomed as friends ( and this is not said in vain ) and most professionally. Our friendship to you, to Pierrette and kisses to Jenny from us. Hubert and Marie-Colette DUPUIS

To see our Madagascar Pictures' Gallery
(more than 88 pictures), click on :

Ravo Madagascar

 

 

 

 

RATSIMBAZAFY Ravo Nomenjanahary & Pierrette
Copyright © 2000 Christian-thought
e-mail : r_ravo@hotmail.com
Phone 261 20 32 41 063 65

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