Nosy Be

Nosy Be rises from the Mozambique Channel as a green volcanic dome covered in spice plantations and forest remnants, and the first impression from the sea is of a compact, mountainous island whose highest point, Mont Lokobe, reaches 1,341 metres and is still partially forested despite more than a century of agricultural use.

The island's economic identity was built on ylang-ylang cultivation, which began in the 1870s and made Madagascar one of the world's leading producers of this fragrant flower used in perfume manufacture, and vanilla cultivation followed in the early twentieth century, making Nosy Be one of the first places in the world to grow vanilla on a commercial scale.

The humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) that migrate past Nosy Be each year from July to October are the island's premier wildlife attraction, travelling from Antarctic waters to the warm shallow waters of the Mozambique Channel to calve and mate, and boat trips to observe them have become one of the most consistently popular wildlife experiences in Madagascar.

Underwater, Nosy Be offers dive sites that range from coral gardens with excellent visibility to the submerged crater of the inactive Nosy Komba volcano, and the diversity of marine life includes sea turtles, moray eels, octopus, and clouds of orange and blue anthias fish that swirl in the current at drop-offs along the fringing reef.

The Nosy Be chameleon (Brookesia betschi) is a pygmy chameleon species endemic to the island and found only in the Lokobe forest reserve, where it lives in the leaf litter and on low branches, and its tiny size and cryptic colouration make it a challenge to find even for experienced guides.

The Makioky or Nosy Komba — a volcanic neighbour island visible from Nosy Be — is famous for its populations of black lemurs (Eulemur macaco), and day trips to Nosy Komba give visitors the chance to observe these striking orange-eyed lemurs at close quarters as they move through forest that grows up the sides of the volcanic cone.

The island is compact enough to drive around in a single day, and the road network is relatively good by Malagasy standards, connecting the main town of Hell-Ville with beach resorts on the eastern and northern coasts, fishing villages on the western shore, and the Lokobe reserve in the south.

The Lokobe National Park is the last remaining old-growth forest on Nosy Be and protects several endemic lemur species including the black lemur and Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, as well as the Madagascan flying fox (Pteropus rufus), whose large colonies are visible at dusk as they leave the forest to feed on fruit trees across the island.

Nosy Be is the best place in Madagascar to observe humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) during their July-to-October migration from Antarctica, when boat trips to the Mozambique Channel offer reliable sightings.

The diving and snorkelling around Nosy Be and the neighbouring Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely marine reserves offer excellent visibility, coral reefs and the chance to see sea turtles and pelagic fish species.

The island's spice plantation heritage — ylang-ylang and vanilla — is a living agricultural landscape that provides a cultural dimension beyond its natural attractions.