The West of Madagascar
General description
| Climate
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The highlights
General
description
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|
The
west coast of Madagascar
is sublime: white and beige-sailed dugouts sparkle on a limpid ocean
surface,
tiny hamlets with welcoming villagers emerge occasionally on the
kilometrical
beaches lined with oval sand dunes. The rivers form fertile valleys,
sometimes
almost flat, sometimes sharp and abrupt, but always beautiful. The
northern
part is mainly a fertile savanna while travelling southwards we find a
drier
rather bushy territory with astonishing landscapes. Spectacular
limestone
promontories called tsingy pile up towards the North, whilst bizarre
looking
baobabs with immense trunks that would need several people arms to
stretch them
build fairy tale forests towards the South. Tourists looking for an escape from the cold
winters often choose to spend their family holidays sunning themselves on western coast Madagascar 's beautiful beaches. There are endless
possibilities when you spend your getaways here. |
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Madagascar
has six of the eight
existing species of baobabs and it seems, that there are more of these
fantastic beings than people...
© Madagascar Travel Guide
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We are in the Sakalava
territory: a sparsely
populated region that encompasses an endless coast, opaque rivers full
of
sediments, savanna pasturelands and forests. The practice "tavy", the
traditional custom of slash and burn, which creates short-term grazing
for zebu
cattle, is still extended. Although
herd sizes diminished during the colonial period, Sakalava continue to
raise
humpbacked zebu cattle for meat and for ceremonial purposes and to pull
two-wheeled wooden carts. The Sakalava, along with the Bara people of
the
southwest, are considered the most "African" of the Malagasy
peoples.
Traditional
colorful-painted cart
©
Madagascar Travel Guide
|
Specifically, several elements in Sakalava
culture bear a strong resemblance to
those of Africa, including the keeping of relics (such as pieces of
bone)
considered to have magical powers and the practice of spirit
possession, in
which a medium transmits the wishes of dead kings to the living.
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Climate
The
western coast of Madagascar
is much drier than the
eastern coast. In general, we can say the climate here is dry tropical.
During
the dry months between May and November it does not rain at all and the
temperatures are pleasant (20 to 25°C on average). Between
December and April
it can rain torrentially or just a couple of showers, depending on the
are and
the year. The northern area is greener and indeed considerably wetter
than the
southern one. The hottest months are March, April, November and
December, when
the average temperature is 30° C or even more.
The
highlights
- Descending
the Manambolo and the Tsiribihina
Rivers:
both trips are
becoming more popular every year. You get the chance to explore the
Sakalava country
from a different point of view and sleep on the river shores, sharing
your
campsites with turtles and crocodiles!
- The
Baobabs´ Alley: 20 km from Morondava, the biggest
town of this part of Madagascar,
we
find all those giants baobabs clustering together at both sides of the
road. It
is just amazing, especially at dawn.
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The
coastal trail from Morondava southwards is a non-very-visited
route which hides
spectacular small fisher villages like Ankevo and Belo sur Mer, and
paradise-like beaches ideal to practise snorkelling, relaxing and just
enjoying
life.
- Tsingy
de Bemeraha National Park: this spectacular mineral forest
formed by a
labyrinth of sharp stone needles offer incredible sceneries and
wonderful
trekking circuits through the bizarre and unique Tsingys
-
Kirindy
Reserve: This private reserve protects one of the last
remaining dry deciduous
forests of Madagascar.
Apart from spotting lemurs, reptiles and birds, it is the best place of
the
whole island to see Madagascar´s biggest predator: the fossa.
