"Madasgacar’s most popular beach resort, the lush offshore island of Nosy Be operates largely as a self-standing fly-in tourist destination, despite being only 30 minutes by boat from the mainland port of Ankify. Nosy Be’s main attraction is the gorgeous beaches along its west coast, but it also offers plenty to amuse active travellers, from snorkelling and diving to hiking and lemur visits. ”
- Philip Briggs
Nosy Be
Serviced by its own international airport, Nosy Be (literally Big Island) is the largest member of an archipelago of partially-submerged volcanoes that rise from the clear turquoise waters off the northwest coast of Madagascar.
The island’s touristic focal point is the string of idyllic but well-developed palm-lined beaches – Ambatoloaka, Madirokely, Ambondrona, Dzamandzary, Bemoko and Ambaro – that run decorously along its southwest coast and offer decent swimming conditions throughout the year. Prime snorkelling and diving sites include mangrove-lined Nosy Sakatia, which lies immediately opposite the southwestern beaches, and the more remote Nosy Tanikely Marine National Park and its multicoloured coral reefs.
Also of interest is the small port town of Hell-Ville, with its colonial architectural heritage, and the sacred banyan tree planted in honour of Queen Tsiomeko at Mahatsinjo in 1837. Prime sites for hikers are the multiple-coned, lake-studded volcanic Mont Passot, the small Réserve Naturelle Intégrale de Lokobe with its naturally occurring population of the charismatic black lemur, and the separate island of Nosy Komba whose forest-blanked volcanic slopes rise a high point of 622 metres.
When to go
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