Things to do in Atsinanana

Madagascar is a world of its own — a magical island where ancient baobab trees touch the sky, lemurs leap through lush forests, and turquoise waters surround untouched tropical beaches.Separated from mainland Africa for millions of years, Madagascar evolved into one of Earth's most extraordinary natural wonders. Many of its plants and animals exist nowhere else on the planet.

We booked a day trip here as part of a cruise. In the end it was a mixed bag. A very tough trip from Tamatave via bad roads. The park is old. We had local guides who gave very good explanations. There were many lemurs, both in enclosures and roaming free. However, it was impossible to interact with the lemurs. Our kids (3 and 5) loved the turtles, otherwise they would have felt very tired (a lot of going up and down in the park and the temperature was very high). We really cannot recommend this trip enough

The Queen's Palace is a famous palace in Tananarive. It was once a symbol of the colonial history of the last two centuries. The Queen's Palace is high above and the scenery around it can be seen. It is really beautiful. Many colonial relics and furniture are still preserved here. It is now one of the most important museums in Madagascar.

Although this is a wildlife reserve, the enthusiastic guides are able to show you around and even let you handle examples of the various Malagasy fauna. This visit was at the start of a two-week trip to Madagascar, so at this early stage I needed help picking out chameleons from the forest background (after another week, spotting them became much easier!) so it was a great place to start. Other things you can see here are geckos, snakes, incredible tree frogs (like the golden mantilla, which is native to the area and was the main reason the reserve was created), and even crocodiles. There is a picnic area with tables, but you need to bring your own food and drinks: there are bathrooms, but no cafe.

Along the wall, there are three multi-layered racks with kitchen knives, oil lamps, clay plates, five stones used as stoves, and a seven-pronged barbecue rack. On the wall hang a double-edged javelin, three single-edged javelins, a saber, and three bull horns used by the king.