Top Choice Plantation in Manakara
Domaine Aavyland
Some 18km south of Manakara on the road to Vohipeno, you'll find Domaine Aavyland, a 31-hectare organic plantation and distillery producing medicinal and fragrant essential oils such as ravintsara, niaouly, clove, c…
Top Choice Area in Fianarantsoa
Haute-Ville
The oldest and most attractive part of town is the pedestrian Haute-Ville (known as Tanana Ambony in Malagasy). It's famed for its architecture – two-storey brick houses with steep roofs, balconies and tumbling plan…
Top Choice Madagascan in Antsirabe
Café Mirana
This cafeteria is one of the busiest in town, with reason: its bakery is the best for kilometres (the croissants get top marks, as does the bread), and the restaurant out back churns out tasty, great-value Madagasca…
Top Choice International in Fianarantsoa
La Rizière
For gastronomic fare at average prices, make sure you book a table at La Rizière. The restaurant is a working culinary school and the chefs and waiters are all perfecting their trade. Service is charming (the chefs …
Top Choice International in Antsirabe
Chez Jenny
Hands down the best restaurant in town, Chez Jenny is a winning combination of colourful decor, delicious food, warm service and atmosphere, complete with a well-stocked bar and a cosy fireplace for cold winter nigh…
Top Choice Madagascan in Manakara
Sharon
This cheap and cheerful eatery heaves with young locals every night of the week. It serves the best brochettes (kebabs) in town, cooked on a street-side BBQ (don't miss the peanut dipping sauce). The huge mi sao are…
National Park in Central Madagascar
Parc National de Ranomafana
Ranomafana appears after a fantastic entrance through a dry rocky valley, and after a long day’s travel, it feels like you've reached a mysterious island. The air is fresh and cool and the forest, with all of its st…
Wildlife Reserve in Ambalavao
Réserve d'Anja
This 370,000-sq-metre reserve encompasses three mountain-size boulders (the three sisters) ringed at the base by a narrow forest full of ring-tailed lemurs. Anja's lemurs are famous for sunning themselves on the bou…
Cultural Centre in Parc National de Ranomafana
Centre ValBio
This international training centre for the study of biodiversity is housed in attractive buildings on the edge of the national park. If you have any interest in the scientific research going on in and around Ranomaf…
National Park in Massif de l'Andringitra
Parc National d'Andringitra
Parc National d'Andringitra is the pièce de résistance of the wider Massif de l'Andringitra. It encompasses high-altitude plateaux of epic beauty, small tracts of primary rainforest, scenic trails along mountain str…