After 12 hours flight from Istanbul to Antananarivo ( via Mauritius), we finally landed in Madagascar, at Ivato airport (TNR). It is the major international airport in Madagascar and the main entry point for Madagascar. The airport is situated in Ivato, a suburb of Tana, 30 min to 1.5 h from city center, depending on a traffic. The easiest way to leave the airport (after waiting in a long queue to obtain entry visa) is to take a taxi (from 35 000 AR, after negotiations) or navette shuttle (if you catch it) which costs 10 000 AR/person.
It was great to be back in Madagascar, to see it and smell it 🙂 Our first stop was of course, the capital Antananarivo. Antananarivo (Tananarive in French version) or known by its short form Tana is the largest and the biggest city in Madagascar. It is the political, economic, educational and cultural heart of Madagascar. The Presidency, National Assembly, Senate and Supreme Court are located here, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. The city is located 1,280 m above the sea level in the center of the island.
Usually tourists use Tana just as a transit hub and do not stay too long there (including me). Even Tana doesn’t have some world known attractions, there are enough things to see and to do to occupy you for a few days; the most known Tana’s monument is Rova (Sovereigns or Queen’s Palace of the Kingdom of Imerina, 17th and 18th century). Admission is 10 000 Ar. Unfortunately, it was damaged by fire in the suspected arson in 1995, and only the stone shell remains, together with some outbuildings, statues and a chapel. The site offers good panoramic views of the city, as it is on the highest point in the hills. It is also a resting place of the country’s greatest monarchs. It is fady (taboo) to point your finger directly at the royal tombs or the palace itself.
Another interesting place to visit is The Musée d’art et d’archéologie of Isoraka where you can learn a lot about Madagascar’s history, its people and its traditions, since 1st century to the present.
Analakely Market is a main market of Tana, and there is a possibility to buy all kind of food, clothes, household items and many more. An interesting experience, but take care of pick pockets.
If you want to do some birdwatching in the city, RAMSAR site Parc de Tsarasaotra is an ideal place; it is a vital refuge and nesting site for 14 threatened endemic bird species. Taxi to the site costs around AR5000 to Ar8000. For tickets and other information, the best is to contact Boogie Pilgrim. Another water body in the city is Lac Anosy that lies in the southern part of town. The best time to visit the lake is in October when it is covered in purple blossoms.
In addition, just walking in the Haute-Ville is an experience by itself, with its beautiful (but many decayed) colonial buildings, steep streets and good choice of shops and restaurants. To continue sightseeing take stroll around L’avenue de Independence till the Old railway station, Gare Soarano, now a small upmarket shopping center with nice choice of (up marketed) local crafts and designs.
In the surroundings of Antananarivo, there are many interesting sites for a day trip. One of the highlights is Ambohimanga (blue hill or beautiful hill), which was original capital of the Merina royal family. Even when the seat of government was shifted to Antananarivo for political reason, Ambohimanga remained a sacred site and it was off-limits to foreigners for many years. The entire hill was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2001. The sacred hill is situated 21 km north of Tana, taxis-be (route H) leave all day from Ambivona (one and half hours)
The other popular sites for a half/day trip from Tana are Lemur’s Park and Croc farm (near Ivato).
To leave Tana by taxi brousse you have to find the taxi brousse station (La gare routiere) depending of your destination. They roughly correspond to the points of the compass; i.e. the northern bus station includes destinations such as Nossi-Be (AKA Nosy-Be, Nosy Manitra) and Antsiranana (Diego-Suarez), while the Eastern one (Gare Routiere de L’est) has destinations such as Andasibe. If you don’t know which one you need, ask a taxi driver to take you to the right one for your location, or even better to ask in your hotel.
