Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOPARY
This village is near the Mananivo river mouth, 23km before Vangaindrano. Lo-
pary market (actually held 1km north of the village at Mahabo) is an important Saturday
market where you will find a wide variety of produce. It draws people from as far as Fara-
fangana and Vangaindrano.
VANGAINDRANO
This has the atmosphere of a frontier town, and indeed it marks the
endofthegoodroadheadingsouth.Fewtouristscomeherewhichgivesitacertainappeal.
Market day is Monday.
Where to stay and eat
Tropic
(12 rooms)
m
032 44 343 49. Reasonable rooms just past the stadium 1km
southwest of the market; some en suite. Restaurant
Mandarine
has grill & seafood speci-
alities. €€-€€€
Shell Motel
(11 bungalows)
m
032 45 500 12. So named for its proximity to the fuel
station at the north of town. €€
Guerit, Jupiter, Hunotel
&
Antsika
are basic hotels with cheap rooms & bucket
showers. €
Mini-Resto Ezaka
05.30-late. Malagasy hangout with loud music.
Moneyandcommunications
VangaindranohasaBOAbankwhichcanchangemajorfor-
eign currencies but not travellers' cheques and there's no ATM (
Mon-Fri 08.00-11.30
& 14.30-17.00
). The town also has a post office and a branch of Colis Express (
m
032 44
564 52
). At the time of writing there is no internet access.
Whattoseeanddo
The town itself has little of interest but it is a nice excursion to follow
the enormous River Mananara the 12km to the sea. If spices are your thing, head 20km
southfromVangaindranothenturneastfor9kmtoMatanga-thecapitalofcloves('
jirofo
'
in Malagasy). Some 30km south of Vangaindrano is an out-of-the-way regional museum,
Papan'ny Do Mahasianaka.
The owner of Tropic Hotel, M Ronaldo, is president of the region's tourist board so this
is the best place to come for the latest information, including the above trips and finding
transport to Taolagnaro.
MIDONGY DU SUD NATIONAL PARK
Well off the beaten track, this park is challen-
ging to reach (impossible in the rainy season) and has little tourist infrastructure. It com-
prises 192,000ha of mountainous and often rainy terrain.
From Vangaindrano head east. You can cover the 94km to Ranomena in two hours but
the remaining 42km to Midongy Atsimo, where there is basic accommodation, is much
slower going. One reader took six hours but it's highly weather-dependent. Visit the park
