THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SAKALAVA PEOPLE
Places, traditions and crafts not to be missed.
Hell Ville
The lively, folkloric capital of Nosy Be is well worth a visit to get a feel for Malagasy life. There are many interesting places to visit. The covered market where you can find all sorts of spices at good prices, the embroiderers' market offering curtains and tablecloths that are surprisingly good value for money, the craft shops, the chocolate factory and the Nosy Be rum distillery. The harbor promenade with its butre, characteristic cargo ships, is very interesting.
Lemuria land and Marodoka
Lemurialand is a large nature park filled with exotic animals, flowers and plants. It is home to a variety of animals and several species of lemur and century-old tortoise. You can visit the old rum and Ylang Ylang distilleries, which produce one of the perfume industry's most prized essences.
Not far from there is Marodoka, the ancient Arab village and port, where the women still welcome you with their traditional welcome dances.
The little waterfall and the sacred tree
Accessible only on foot, the Petite Cascade is a sacred piece of wilderness much loved by the locals.
The sacred tree is a gigantic ficus bengalensis over 200 years old; it is also a place of worship and prayer for the Sakalava people. The tree is characterised by its aerial roots which, once they touch the ground, grow into new trunks. This is how an incredible little forest of 5,000 square meters has developed, which is constantly reproducing itself.