Toliara & South West

A unique travel experience planned by a destination expert

Toliara (or Tulear) is the south-west’s capital, a town of approximately 70,000 inhabitants created in 1895 by a French architect, who gave great importance to planting trees in the city, which offer welcome shade from the blazing sun. Hot and sunny, Tulear is the gateway to the great southern reef, and the beach towns of Anakao (south) and Ifaty Mangily (north). It is surrounded by some spectacular table-mountain formations covered in the unique southern spiny forest and has significant mangroves and coral reef.

The circuit of the national road N° 7 from Antananarivo is undoubtedly the most famous road-trip in the country.
Before arriving at the final destination – which is the city of Tulear – discovering the treasures along the way is what the trip is all about. Among these treasures, Isalo National Park is perhaps the most important. Once you arrive in Toliara, you will discover the underrated charm of this city that, so it is said, “never sleeps”. Luxury travel, cultural, seaside or ecological tourism, there is no shortage of choice in Tulear and its surroundings.
Located in the southwest of Madagascar, going to Tulear from Antananarivo will take around two days by car, if you don’t make many stopovers.

For those who prefer relaxation and adventure, the city is accessible by plane. But a road trip with frequent stops at the many sites that fringe the RN7 is strongly recommended. After crossing the wonders of the highlands (the agricultural belt), a trip to the city of Tulear allows you to discover a wide variety of different cultures, crafts of all kinds, and a succession of evolving biodiversity. To be able to discover everything on this tour, the trip can last a whole week, or even more. Once you arrive in the Tulear region, discovering the local biodiversity is almost an obligation. With a climate varying sometimes from one extreme to another, the local ecosystems had to adapt, presenting a unique and breathtaking flora and fauna.

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Toliara

Tulear has the great advantage of benefiting from as many charms and attractions as other cities, while being spared from mass tourism. With magnificent beaches to the north and the south, an enormous fringing reef, and very well-preserved marine and terrestrial attractions, the city of Toliara is aptly named “the city that never sleeps”. Besides tourism, a stay in Tulear is also an opportunity to enjoy a very lively nightlife (if you stay in town itself) and the great sense of hospitality of the local population.
Click on attraction below for more info:

Antsokay Arboretum
The Arboretum of Antsokay was created around 1980 on the initiative of a Swiss amateur botanist Hermann PETIGNAT, by the purchase of several plots of very poor land. The arboretum is located 12 km southeast of the city of Toliara, 2 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn and 3 km from the waters of the Mozambique Channel. Antsokay is the name of the small nearby hamlet.
On an area of 40 hectares, surrounded by a living hedge, the proprietor undertook to reproduce and multiply either by seed, cutting or transplantation, the most endangered plant species of the region, in order to preserve the greatest number, from constant deforestation, bushfires and looters. The study, the identification and even their description are for the most part, assured. During many prospecting trips into the bush, Mr Petignat and his team were able to discover and describe new species.
Saint Augustin
Anantsono or Saint Augustin is a small fishing village of the Vezo people. Endowed with a breathtaking landscape, this village situated in a vast bay stands out for having fiercely safeguarded its ancestral charm and its customs.
Sarondrano
Surrounded by pristine dunes similar to those of African deserts, Sarodrano is a small fishing village of the Vezo people. Between its unique landscape and its old-fashioned traditions, Sarodrano is an interesting visit for those wanting to witness the traditional way of life.