Nosy Be

Nosy Be or Nossi-bé is an island just off the northwest coast of Madagascar . It belongs to the province of Antsiranana , and has 60,000 inhabitants.In the Malagasy language , “nosy be” means “big island”. Historically, the island was given several names over the centuries. At the beginning of the colonial period , in the 17th century , the island was called Assada . Alternative Malagasy names are Nosy Manitra (“fragrant island”) or Antsirambazaha .

The first inhabitants of Nosy Be were of the Sakalava ethnic group ; later small groups of Antankarana , Zafinofotsy , Comorians , Indians and Antandroy came to the island . It was annexed to the Radama kingdom around 1837 . Nosy Be is one of the main tourist poles of Madagascar. Another important resource is agriculture : among other things, coffee , cocoa , vanilla , cinnamon , graviola and ylang-ylang are grown , from which an essence used in the perfume industry is extracted (it was precisely from these crops that the name “fragrant island”). Until a few years ago, sugar cane was also grown. The island has an airport ( Fascene – IATA airport code : NOS).

The road from the airport passes through Andoany and Dzamandzar, two of the most important population centers on the island. The most common means of transport on the island are bicycles which are seen in large quantities. Renaults, symbol of the French passage, abound and in particular the Renault 4. The most common taxis are yellow Apecars that can be seen moving easily. The most famous transport company on the island is RCM.

Nosy Be is a volcanic island , located at 13° 21′ south latitude and 40° 21′ east longitude, about 8 km off the coast of Madagascar, in the Mozambique channel . It has a total area of 300 km² and the highest point, formed by Mount Lokobe , is 450 m asl . The capital of the island is the city of Andoany , known in the colonial period as Hell-Ville, named after the French admiral Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell .
It is surrounded by an archipelago of other smaller islands including Nosy Komba (famous for its macaque lemurs ), Nosy Sakatia , Nosy Tanikely , Nosy Mitsio , Nosy Raty , Nosy Fanihy , Nosy Faly , Nosy Mamoko and Nosy Iranja , as well as numerous uninhabited islets such as Nosy Kivongy , Nosy Antsoha and Nosy Ankazoberavina [1] .

On the island of Nosy Be there are eleven volcanic lakes , which constitute an important water resource for cultivation and an excellent habitat for crocodiles. The landscape is very varied and dominated by large hills and minor reliefs, such as the aforementioned Lokobe and Mount Passot (350 m). The coast is jagged and full of coves and small bays.

The climate of Nosy Be is ideal for tourism. 27 degrees on average with very low percentages of humidity. The Tsaratanana Massif protects the island from the strong northeast winds that hit Madagascar in August, and the waters of the Mozambique Channel are warm all year round. In summer (December, January, February and March) humidity is high due to night rains and daytime heat; in the same period the island, especially the east coast, may be affected by the passage of cyclones.