The Highlands South of Tana - Madagascar - page 329

Antaimoro paper is traditionally made from the bark of the avoha tree from the eastern
forests, but sisal paste is now sometimes used. After the bark is pounded and softened in
water it is smoothed onto linen trays to dry in the sun. While still tacky, dried flowers are
pressedintoitandbrushedoverwithathinsolutionoftheliquidbarktoholdtheminplace.
The open-air factory where all this happens is to the east of the town in the same com-
pound as the hotel Bougainvillées. It is fascinating to see the step-by-step process, and you
get a good tour. A shop sells the finished product in dozens of forms: from bookmarks and
greeting cards to photo albums and picture frames. Oh, and bring along your business card
or a passport photo to add to the collection that covers one wall of the shop!
Silk production ( m 033 14 987 45/032 43 799 63; 07.30-17.00 ) Witness the process
of silk production, from silkworm to silk scarf, at Soalandy . The workshop is opposite the
Tropik hotel, 100m beyond the National Parks office at the northeast end of town, and you
can buy silk products here too.
If you have time to spare, combine this with a visit to Nathocéane ( Mon-Sat
08.00-12.00 & 14.00-17.00 ), 250m back towards town, where you can buy T-shirts, bags
and scarves and watch these items being embroidered.
Cattlemarket Held on Wednesday and Thursday on the outskirts of town. It gets going at
about 03.00, so you need to be an early riser! To get there take RN7 south and after about
1km you'll see the zebu on a hill to the left.
After the market, the herdsmen take a month to walk the zebu to Tana, and you'll see
these large herds on the road. Look out for the yellow ear tags: these are 'zebu passports'
giving the owner the right to take his cattle across regional boundaries.
EXCURSIONS FROM AMBALAVAO
Soavita Winery ( Mon-Sat 07.00-11.00 & 13.00-17.00, Sun closed ) This place offers
tours on weekdays where you will be shown the various stages of winemaking by one of
the workers, followed by a tasting. The turning for the winery is 3.5km from Ambalavao
towards Fianar, from which point it is 1km down a track. You are advised to go to the Ah-
Tsin-Tsen snack bar in town first to make an appointment to visit. Tours cost 3,000Ar per
person.
Anja (Anjaha) Park About 13km south from Ambalavao on RN7 is a community-run
park which offers superb scenery, intriguing plants adapted to the dry southern climate,
some interesting Betsileo history and several troops of cheeky ring-tailed lemurs.
The local people have long recognised the tourist potential here and so a few years
ago they organised themselves to gain some income from it. The region is sacred to the
Betsileo; their ancestors are buried here and it has always been fady to hunt the lemurs.