GO FAR AND WILD

Off the island’s north-west coast, discover exotic creatures, tropical rainforest, superlative diving and the world’s most heavenly beaches.

WHY IT’S SPECIAL

The islands offer some of the Indian Ocean’s best snorkelling and diving sites, but life on land is equally captivating – clambering through tropical forests you encounter lemurs, chameleons, geckos – a marvellous contrast, found nowhere else on earth. Having developed in complete isolation for millennia, most of its wildlife, plant life and marine life is endemic. Head for the islands off the beautiful north-east coast, which has an essential, untouched wildness – an authentic castaway atmosphere that is entirely missing from the Indian Ocean’s more developed islands – and a combination of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife that is off-thecharts special. You can base yourself on Nosy Be or Sakatia and book day trips to the closest islands, but the most wonderful way to experience this coast is to charter a catamaran, motorised and staffed with a skipper and a chef, to drop anchor alongside deserted beaches or at the best fishing sites. At night, jump off the back of the boat into the inky black ocean and float naked under the moon.

YOU’LL NEVER FORGET…

The feel of a lemur’s leathery fingers brushing against yours. On the green cone of land they call Nosy Antsoa, the lemurs are so habituated they take bits of banana from a proffered palm.

INSIDER TIP

Take a walk through Lokobé, Nosy Be’s lowland rainforest nature reserve, reachable only by boat, and keep an eye out for the perfectly camouflaged leaf-tailed gecko.

HOW TO DO IT

Ethiopian Airlines (ethiopianairlines. com) flies from London to Nosy Be with a short stop in Addis Ababa. Airlink (flyairlink.com) flies direct to Nosy Be from Johannesburg. Constance Tsarabanjina (constance hotels.com) is a barefoot-chic lodge on an island small enough to walk around on foot. For island-hopping trips, Harriet Joao at MadagasCaT Charters & Travel (madagascat.co.za) can rent you a boat and knows every decent lodging in the islands.