Toliara, the southern Malagasy city, is known as the city of the sun because of its record of sunshine among all the cities in Madagascar. The streets are full of sunshine all year round with an average temperature of 28°C and it almost never rains, between 30 to 40 cm of rain per year. In Toliara, the wind called the TSIOKANTSIMO blows all the time. It comes from the south and it often promotes a sea full of anchovies.

There is a famous expression about Toliara: "Toliara tsy miroro"— which means Tulear never sleeps. This saying comes from the fact that the city is alive both day and night. Toliara is also known for its overabundance of rickshaws, the most common means of transportation in the city.

In Toliara, you can enjoy crowded markets and parking lots. It is a very dynamic city except from noon to 3pm when it is a general siesta. Shops are closed, sellers sleep under their stalls, guards sleep on the doorsteps, the streets are deserted: this is the sacred hours of Toliara.

Toliara can be divided into three main parts. First, there is the harbor where there are rather wooden houses on the seaside, inhabited by fishermen and dugoutmen. Then, there is the city center showcasing colonial houses, made of stone, with floor, intended for little more well-to-do families. Finally, there is the rest of the city, all around, which is mostly composed of houses made of metal sheets or made of "vojo" - meaning straw.

In Toliara, some houses have electricity and others do not. Most of these houses do not have running water at home. To get water, they have a common pump in each neighborhood. Rich and poor inhabitants alike, most of the inhabitants of Toliara still cook with charcoal. As for the dress code, most women still wear the traditional "lamba", a kind of Malagasy sarong. Even if most of them consider themselves Christians, the Muslim community is very present. Toliara is also the city of the "Vezo" tribe which speaks the Vezo language.

What Vezo means.

It goes back to the arrival of the first Austronesians in Madagascar. In their language which was a mixture of Malay and Javanese, Vezo meant "population by the sea" as opposed to bazimba – which became vazimba in Malagasy or "population of the forest". At the time when the Austronesians first arrived, there were only two types of Malagasy: the Vezo, those who lived on the coast, and the vazimba, those who lived inland.

Then along the time, there were new immigrants who came to make trade like Persians, Arabs, and others. Due to this mixing, some populations gradually changed their tribe’s name. Only the clan of the south-west of Madagascar keeps the old Austronesian name: the Vezo. Anyway, the magnificent people of the Vezo are looking forward to welcoming you in Toliara.

Sources: Madagascar Tourism in Tulear, Tour Operator Madagascar, Madagascar Ecotourisme