Antananarivo - a short travel guide

You will have a unique experience in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar.


              Located in the center of Madagascar, an earthly paradise for animals and plants, Antananarivo is very remarkable and worth visiting.

              The remains of the ancient Merina Kingdom at Rovan’i Manjakamiadana will take you back to the medieval period. The palace is built on top of the highest hill in Antananarivo, and the view from there is just magnificent. Roofs made of red bricks fill the steep-sided hills, and you can never see this sight anywhere else.




jumping Sifaka

 

Madagascar is famous for its interesting biodiversity. Seperated from other continents more than 120 million years ago, animals and plants have evolved in unique ways. For those of you who do not have time to visit private preserves, Tsymbazaza Zoo is a perfect fit have a look at them. You can meet the "well-known but unknown" lemur Aye-aye, cheerful jumping Sifaka, and many other species endemic to Madagascar.




Lac Anosy surrounded by Jacaranda trees



Surrounded by the great Jacaranda trees, Lac Anosy is worth a look especially in summer when Jacaranda trees blossom. The scenery is somewhat similar to a Japanese lakeside with cherry blossoms, and it is equal or beyond in its beauty.

If you want to buy a souvenir of your visit to this country, go to Analakely Market and the Independence Avenue. Shining gems; rose and violet crystals, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and even fossils of Ammonites are displayed, and they are sold at affordable prices. You can also have your own stamps handmade by a craftsman of Independence Avenue.

If you visit Antananarivo, in the middle of the secluded island Madagascar, your experience there would be so extraordinary and fascinating that you will surely want to go there again.