Avenue of the Baobabs - a must see

Next stop: Avenue of the Baobabs

When I was finding out about Madagascar, before my first trip to the Red Island, I regularly came across photos of a road lined with immense trees with smooth trunks and branches that looked like roots. It looked fascinating and I was immediately curious about the place. Once I was there I couldn't not go to the place which was on all the post cards all over the world.

From Morondava, I took the road going back to the capital - the only road in fact - for 15 kilometres and then turned off on the RN35. Then I continued along the potholed road for about 10 kilometres and it was an eye opener.

A majestic natural monument...

All at once they were there. In a countryside that is mostly rice paddies and tall grass you suddenly see these giants stretching towards the sky. How many are there exactly? Impossible to say when you first see them, but there are more than 300 in total, of which about 40 are perfectly aligned along the route. These majestic Adansonia grandidieri , which make up Avenue of the Baobabs are one of six species native to Madagascar. Their smooth trunks climb incredible heights into the sky and their branches wind around strangely.

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Dennis van de Water

...and change with the seasons

Whether they have leaves or the branches are bare, the baobabs of the Avenue are a magical sight. The leaves start to show when the rains begin and are full grown in the dry season. Flowering can happen all year round, according to the species.

When they flower, the different species of baobab there - Adansonia za, A. rubrostipa and A. grandidieri - open in just a few minutes in order to liberate the precious nectar. It is transported by various animals living in its branches: lemur, bats and sphinx...The flowers only last for a few hours. It is a magnificent spectacle, the trees are decorated with pompoms of flowers - the different species are white, yellow or red - which make a magnificent contrast with the leaves.

An inhabited protected area

In 2007 the Avenue of the Baobabs was classified as a "Natural Monument" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This classification lead to the creation of a protected area of 320 hectares.

A car park has recently been created at the entrance to the protected area so that the view of the Avenue isn't spoilt by 4x4s parked everywhere. The car park fees are distributed among the inhabitants of the village that is in the middle of the protected zone, to compensate them for being unable to cultivate in the zone.

The village sculptors exhibit and sell their work under a gazebo next to the entry to the monument. If you buy their works, you are helping their slash and burn culture, which is largely responsible for deforestation in the area, to develop alternative economic activities. So why not bring back a little sculpture of a baobab as a souvenir?