There is no public transportation on the island of Nosy Be, locals use tuk-tuk or taxi services. As I already mentioned, tourism here is still in its early stages, so there are few opportunities to get to know the local life on your own. I would recommend an island tour for those who want to do this.
While driving around the island, the guide tells about the local household, weddings, funerals, customs, answers questions of interest to the visitors and keeps stopping to show some interesting plant or animal along the way.
Have you ever seen cashews, pineapples or cacao grow? If not, you will definitely see it.
During the tour, we visited the capital of the island, Hell-Ville, where we had the opportunity to buy local goods (vanilla, pepper, various spices, essential oils produced in Madagascar) and fruits at the market there. It is true that you will have to eat the fruits on the spot, because it is forbidden to transport them to Europe.
Actually I did not buy anything I could use for the food as I lacked a lot of hygiene there, a lot of flies and other insects arround an the smell is not good either, but I saw other tourists buy spices, fruits and other stuffs.
Later, we traveled to see the Malagasy sacred tree. It is not a local tree, but brought from India. People of Nosy Be believe in its power and used to pray there.
After we visited the zoological park "Lemuria Land", which is home to the most interesting animals of Madagascar: lemurs, turtles, snakes, chameleons, geckos and many others. I will write a separate post about this zoo.
A factory of ylang-ylang essential oil, used in perfumery, was also established here, where you can familiarize yourself with the production processes. As much as 50 kilograms of flowers are needed to make one liter of oil!
In the afternoon, a trip to Andilana, one of the most beautiful beaches of Nosy Be, and swimming in it awaited us.
And we accompanied the sun on the highest peak of the island, Mont Passot, where a breathtaking panorama opened up.
A bus takes you almost all the way to the top, you only need to climb a few hundred meters. There is an impressive observation deck at the top, where you can see the island from all sides.
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Thank you for reading. You are always welcome to check my posts.
All photos are original.
With love
"Do what is right, mot what is easy nor what is popular" - R. T. BENNETH.