Are you a sea lover? Whether it is the case or not, you should not miss out the sumptuous marine spot in the North West of Madagascar.

Declared as a marine National park in 2012 thanks to its extraordinary landscape and seascape on the coastal region of the big island and has been under Marine Protected Area (MPA) since 2007, Nosy Hara, the little-known archipelago is categorized among the paradisiac islands in the world. The archipelago of Nosy Hara, located about 30 kilometers from cap d’Ambre is one of the beautifully discovered archipelagos in the region of Diana. These ones are made up of 15 small islands which most of them are uninhabited and remained intact. Some of these islands include Nosy Vaha, Nosy Lakandava, and Nosy Anjombavola. But, Nosy hara, the protected area which elongates over two to three kilometers of length is known as the most attractive and interesting one. This is due to its rich biodiversity with an outstanding landscape, as well as an abundance of sea resources. The island is covered by dry forest with huge trees and rocky cliff stones, well-known as “tsingy” that nestle up close to each other and squeeze everywhere on the island. Indeed, Nosy hara is called “mountainous island”; hara which comes from the Malagasy word harana essentially means mountains.

Fauna and Flora
So far as species are concerned, Nosy hara abounds in a variety of animal species, whether it is terrestrial or marine. Managed by Malagasy National Parks and funded by WWF, the archipelago has become a protected site and declared as a marine reserve. The little known paradisiac island with deep blue water inhabits about 400 marine species: 279 coral fishes species, 108 corals, 50 species of mollusks, three sea sponges, five species of sea turtles, whales and dolphins. It contains also more than 30 bird species, 20 reptiles and some amphibians. The National park of Nosy hara is mostly famous for being home to the world’s tiniest chameleon “Brookesia micra”, an endemic and threatened reptile species measuring less than 30 millimeters. Apart from the brookesia micra, other reptiles belonging to chamaeleonidae family are present in the dry forest such as the furcifer pardalis, also known as the panther chameleons, the gecko Paroedura fasciata, the velvet geckos or Blaesodactylus boivini, and the fish scale geckos (Geckolepis ssp). The fauna is so exceptional as the flora which features two species of baobas and pachypodiums standing tall as if they have served as the main decorations to the island.

Activities and park access
Even though the archipelago of Nosy hara is inhabited, activities are still available for tourists and holidaymakers. Two of the most popular activities on the island are swimming and snorkeling, since nosy hara is surrounded by coral reefs and is made of a vast natural aquarium of blue and crystal waters. It has even been said that the marine park is one of the world’s best places to snorkel at. Indeed, nosy hara is only accessible by boat; about 12 kilometers of boat trip from the port of Ampasindava, Antsiranana are needed to reach the known idyllic marine park of nosy hara. If you are an aquatic and nature amateur, but most importantly an adventurous, I urge you to go explore the archipelago of nosy hara along with its other small islands around. You will appreciate it!

Sources: ONTM / Madagascar National Parks