Madagaskar Roadtrip 4. The East Coast– Ambila Lemaitso

This is a travel diary from a group who spent five weeks touring Madagascar in rental 4x4s.
In Post 1 Madagascar Road trip. River boat to Tsingy.you can read about the trip from Tana (Antananarivo) by car and the two-day boat journey down the Tsiribihina River. Here you will find general tips on travelling in Madagascar.
Post 2 Madagascar Road Trip 2: Tsingy and 4×4 Adventure Along the West Coast.covers the visit to the unique Tsingy rock formations and the drive south along a roadless coastline dotted with small resorts.
Post 3: Madagascar Roadtrip 3. RN7 to Tana – Isalo og Ranomafana. describes the well-known tourist route RN7 from Toliara back to Tana.
Here in Post 4 you can read about the coastline east of Tana, the beautiful resorts located here, the Indian Ocean and the quiet backwater region, and the Canal des Pangalanes.

All Madagascar posts can be found here: Madagascar

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Escape to the East Coast

After the exhausting RN7 from Toliara to Tana, we figured it would be nice to head down to the east coast for a few lazy days by the sea. Little did we know what awaited us…

RN2 runs from Tana to Toamasina, which sits at the northern end of a long, narrow sand spit. This forms a natural barrier against the ocean, and on the inland side lies a chain of lagoons and the Canal des Pangalanes, navigable by small boats. The railway line between Tana and Toamasina also runs along this strip.

RN2 turned out to be the worst road we can remember driving. And we’ve driven quite a few. Not because of the road itself — it was paved and only moderately potholed — but because of the traffic. It was packed with trucks. The terrain between Tana and the coast is extremely hilly, constantly going up and down. The road is narrow and winding, and endless convoys of trucks crawled in both directions. Our driver explained that Madagascar’s only major seaport is in Toamasina, so all imports and exports move along this one road.

Chameleons

Besides lemurs, Madagascar is also famed for its huge variety of chameleons. A stop at the Peyrieras Reserve was a welcome break from the traffic. Here you can walk among an impressive collection of chameleons in a large enclosure — in every imaginable colour, some up to 30 cm long plus tail. The highlight was when the guide held up a grasshopper on a stick and the chameleon shot out its tongue and snapped it up.

Because the road is so narrow and winding, traffic jams formed in countless bends where trucks met — only one vehicle could get through at a time. And on the steep hills there were broken-down trucks everywhere. Some were having wheel bearings replaced, others had the entire engine laid out on the ground in pieces. Clearly all repairs are done on the spot, whenever something fails. One truck had overturned into a ditch in a hairpin turn. In one village, traffic was at a complete standstill for ages when two cars met and couldn’t pass.

It was getting dark and our drivers were getting desperate, making some rather daring overtakes to reach the boat that would take us out to the resort — which sits in a lagoon without any road access.

The 270 km journey took over nine hours.

Fortunately the boat waited for us despite our delay. With a 150-hp outboard it made good speed, first across open water and then into the narrow, shallow canal. It was completely dark and the boat had no lights. A man lay on the foredeck guiding the helmsman sitting in the stern.

Hotel Palmarium Reserve

After an hour’s boat ride we finally arrived safely at a wonderful place. Hotel Palmarium Reserve sits beautifully by a large lagoon in a nature reserve full of lemurs. Large bungalows line the water’s edge, and lemurs climb in the trees — and sometimes into your room or onto your table to steal food if you’re not paying attention.

There are several small villages around, and a network of jungle-like forest paths for walking. You can also hire a boat and explore the canals. We took a boat to a small village by a station on the railway line. The line had actually been closed but reopened for traffic in 2023. There is one departure per week in each direction, and the journey is said to be spectacular.

On the ocean side of the sand spit you meet the Indian Ocean, with large swells crashing onto the endless beach. Small canoes are pulled up on the sand, and a brave fisherman battled his way through the huge waves in his tiny boat. The warm air and water invite swimming — but the currents are very strong, so only some tentative splashing is advisable. In the lagoon on the sheltered side, however, it is perfectly safe to swim.

Ambila Lemaitso

Where the railway leaves the long sand spit and crosses a tall bridge onto the mainland lies the little village of Ambila Lemaitso. After several days of relaxation at Hotel Palmarium, we chartered a boat for the two-hour journey down the Canal des Pangalanes to the village, where we had booked three bungalows at River Garden — for a few more days of laziness before heading back toward Tana.

The bungalows here were very basic: a single bulb in the ceiling, no charging points for phones, no shower, no running water — but a toilet, a bucket, and a plastic drum filled with water from the canal ten metres away. Primitive, yes, but the place was idyllic, and the madame running it cooked good meals for us. She had solar power in her kitchen, so we could charge our phones there.

From the terrace we could sit and study life on the canal. Small dugouts glided silently past, occasionally a larger cargo boat with a motor. Right outside, a diver spent much of the day in the water, collecting crabs, fish and shellfish in a large net which he and his wife carefully sorted after each session. The small ones were thrown back.

The village itself is a single long street running parallel to the railway tracks. The island is 200 metres wide, with the open ocean on one side and the canal on the other. At the far end of the village lies the old railway station, with remnants of its former glory — a rusted turntable and two rows of bungalows built of brick, all in an advanced state of decay. Roofs gone, some walls missing, and palm trees growing in what was once the living room.

These are leftovers from colonial times when the French could take the train from Tana down here for beach life and leisure.

Earlier we had only seen tropical storms from afar, as distant flashes lighting up the sky. One evening we sat on the terrace sipping our glasses of rum — the only local drink available — and watched the distant lightning. Suddenly a cold gust of wind bent the palm trees sharply. A clear warning that the weather was approaching. And it certainly was. A spectacular thunderstorm rolled in, lighting up the sky and silhouetting the palm trees along the canal. Then the rain came down in sheets — but the thatched roof above the terrace held firm. December is the rainy season, but fortunately it only rains in the evening and nights.

The train that never came

Our plan was to take the train onward to Mantadia National Park near Andasibe, halfway to Tana. It would have been quite an experience. The line winds through dramatic, hilly terrain past small villages. According to Madarail’s http://www.madarail.mg website, there was one passenger train every Thursday and Saturday toward Tana, which fit perfectly with our schedule.

After speaking with a man who seemed to be the stationmaster, we were disappointed to learn the train now only runs on Thursdays — so that plan fell through. But, he said, freight trains run every day, and we could take one of those. And at 7 a.m. the next morning, sure enough, plenty of people were sitting between the wagons on small platforms. We skipped it.

Mantadia National Park

To reach the park we had to drive back the same way toward Tana. A short ferry ride across the canal, then a piste to Brickaville, where we rejoined RN2. Fortunately, there were fewer trucks that day. Instead of staring at trailers, we could enjoy the beautiful scenery — rolling green valleys filled with palm trees and shrubs. Mostly uphill, since the park lies at 1,000 metres.

We checked into Hotel Feon’ny Ala, which greeted us with old-fashioned charm — a large open dining hall full of dark wood, where we could sit and enjoy the cool mountain breeze. The jungle stands dense a few meters away, and it all reminds of the colonial era’s hill stations where the colonists sought refuge from the heat. Only Englishmen with gin and tonics and pith helmets are missing to give it the perfect colonial feel. Down by the sea, there was a humid heat that made you wet with sweat all the time.Down at the coast the humid heat had soaked us in sweat; here it was pleasantly fresh.

We only had one day here, so I took a 2–3 hour hike in the park, with an entrance just a few hundred metres from the hotel. The rainforest is dense, steep and slippery, and good footwear — even hiking poles — is recommended. The guide led me safely through the green, steaming jungle and pointed out several lemurs, including the large Indri, which lives only in this region.

If you want longer treks, you can drive further north in the park where multi-day hikes with wilderness camping are available.

In the evening, we sat outside the bungalow and watched five lemurs jumping from tree to tree and balancing along the power lines a few meters away.

The next day, we continue on to Tana to have a day to spare in relation to the flight home. We count three trailers that have overturned off the road, so it’s wise to allow for a little slack in case something happens.

All posts from Madagascar can be found here: Madagascar