Africa

Antananarivo

Antananarivo is Madagascar’s capital and was built on a rocky ridge and its 12 surrounding sacred hills.  It became the centre of the Merina kingdom in the 16th century with the royal palace (rova) built on the highest point and remained the capital throughout French colonisation to this day.  The name Antananarivo means ‘City of the Thousand’, after the number of soldiers protecting it during King Adrianjaja’s reign.  Today it is commonly known by its shortened name ‘Tana’.

Tana is quite an attractive city, with its colourful houses and cobbled streets, surrounded by rice fields and the white concrete Merina tombs, from where the dead will be exhumed in the famous famadihana ceremony, dotted around the empty countryside.  There is much to see in the town itself as well as the surrounding area.  There are a number of cultural, historical and natural sites within a day’s excursion from Tana, so it is worth spending a couple of nights in the capital.

Our preferred hotels include:

Royal Palissandre Hotel

Pavillion de l’Emyrne

Hotel Colbert