In the Heart of the Land

Option 1 — Sunset at the viewpoint: we arrange transport to take you up to Mount Passot in the late afternoon, leaving Tsara Beach at 4:30 pm. You stay and watch the sunset for as long as you like, you can have a drink at the kiosk on the terrace, and you are then driven back to the lodge.

Option 2 — The hike: walk the hill of Mount Passot, which rises to 379 metres, and go round its nine sacred lakes with an experienced guide who will show you the Sakalava villages as well as the local wildlife and plants. You decide the time, the length and the points of interest: our guide adapts.

The park offers several inland and coastal routes, with exceptional panoramic views.

A driver collects you at 8 am and takes you to the start of the walk, in the village of Ambatozavavy, where you meet a guide from the reserve at 9 am. The guide adapts the route and the pace to what you want and to your fitness.

Lunch is then served on the beach: freshly caught grilled fish with rice and raw vegetables, and fruit for dessert. Once you have got your strength back, you are put to work paddling back to the village by pirogue — or the driver picks you up at 2:30 pm to bring you back to Tsara Beach.

Your day will be a full one, and you will have seen several different sides of life on Nosy Be. The guide can also adjust the route if there are places you particularly want to see.

The driver-guide collects you from Tsara Beach around 8 am and takes you round the many points of interest on Nosy Be. Lunch and park entrance fees, if you wish to visit, are at your own expense. You are back at the lodge between 6 and 7 pm.

You will see two different sides of the island this way.

Our partner offers quad bike hire with or without a guide, for a half day or a full day. Several routes are possible depending on what interests you. The driver-guides collect you from Tsara Beach around 8 am with the quad bikes, and bring you back at midday or 5 pm depending on the option chosen. Meals and any park entrance fees are at your own expense.

He can take you to the inland Sakalava villages as well as to the well-known beaches, such as Andilana, or to the quieter ones on the west coast.

The guide collects you directly from Tsara Beach at 7:30 am, where the walk begins. Two, three or five hours of walking, or a full day out: you decide. He plans the route so as to bring you back to Tsara Beach at the end of your walk.

A Sakalava who has been doing this for many years, the guide will tell you about the history of the island, its strengths, the challenges it faces and the traditions of its people, and will answer your questions.

A tuk-tuk takes you to the ranch, fifteen minutes from Tsara Beach. You then explore inland or gallop along the beach, accompanied by an experienced rider.

The park is also home to lush tropical vegetation: ylang-ylang, vanilla, pepper and fruit trees.

It is a chance to watch the distillation process that produces ylang-ylang essential oil, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

The aim of the estate is to build a complete local chain, from growing to processing and then selling on the island of Nosy Be.

In the morning or the afternoon you can take a guided tour of this remarkable garden, have lunch there — by reservation only — and, on Thursdays, watch the distillation of ylang-ylang essential oil.

You find out how bees behave, how they work, how they choose their queen and how they look after their larvae.

Wearing a protective suit, you watch the bees close up and handle the hives. The visit ends with a tasting of the honey produced on site. By reservation.