Nosy Soa - Mantasoa - The Dolce Vita

 
The park of Nosy Soa is a natural zoological garden on an island situated in the centre of the large Lake of Mantasoa. The island is 63 km from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, one hour’s drive along the RN2 main road as far as Ambatoloana and 20 minutes along a track practicable at all seasons in the direction of Mantasoa, then 10 minutes by boat. Nosy Soa park covers an island with a circumference of 1 km and a total area of 8 hectares 80 ares, or 88,000 m².
 
Since 2002, when he took over the island, the developer has planted 9,000 or so forest trees, including fruit trees. Before 2002, when the island began to be developed economically, it was often prey to fires caused by negligent fishermen who used to camp and bivouac on Mantasoa Lake without putting out their campfires.
 
 
Currently, you can also admire 30 or so species of flowers that are grown, including 175 orchids of various varieties. A large number of animals live together in this oasis, including five species of snakes, ten species of chameleons, six species of frogs, three species of tortoises, seven species of lemurs, two species of bats and two species of birds.
 
This article was featured in Prime Magazine January 2019
 

Useful Information

When to go

Whatever the month or season, you can visit Mantasoa during your stay on Madagascar.

How to get there

The cheapest means of transport, which also gives you contact with the local population is the bush- taxi, but it may be more convenient to hire a car as far as Mantasoa. To get to the small island, you need to take a motor-boat.

Where to stay

There is a whole range of hotel infrastructures, including le Domaine de l’Ermitage, Mantasoa Lodge, or le Chalet, to name but a few.

Where to eat

The restaurant of l’Ermitage offers local and international dishes using fresh produce from the lake (Tilapia etc.), with vegetables and herbs freshly picked from the garden. During the pleasant winter evenings, you can enjoy infusions and flavoured rums sitting around the large fireplace in the hotel lounge.

What to see

Situated one and a half hour’s hour drive away from Antananarivo, along the road to Tamatave, the lake of Mantasoa is an artificial lake created in 1936 with the aim of regulating the flow of the Ikopa River and irrigating the rice fields of Betsimilatatatra, but also to power the hydroelectric plant of Mandraka.