The road to the West, also called national 4 by Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Coco Lodge Majunga
The road to the West, also called national 4, leads from Antananarivo to Mahajanga or vice versa.
It is rather winding and hilly. The RN 4 is paved and well traversable.
For a few years, the national road n ° 4 has become a tourist destination, for domestic visitors.
Starting from the capital, We view Ankazobe, then Manerinerina, Andriba, Maevatanana, Ambondromamy and Ankarafantsika Park, before reaching the city of Mahajanga flowers.
For the great curious you can stop in all different cities each other and discover the charm and beauty.
Follow the road to the West, along the mountainous Bongolava chain and semi-arid plateaus of Tampoketsa, It is through a world of colours and perfumes : Blue Sky, ochre Red Earth and green jelly beans to the intoxicating scents...
This road is not lacking in charm and you'll be immersed in the typical landscape of the Highlands : hills and the valleys, tight corners, pine forests, lateritic bleedings in hillside, terraced paddy fields which huddle in the hollow of a hill, houses in vernacular architecture : 1 floor, 1 balcony, a greater than the width height...
The Savannah is waiting for you. Pedestrians crowd now on the 2 sides of the road.
You will cross the Betsiboka reddish falls, then you will ride on an old bridge whose deck everything from sheet metal when they are there, makes a lot of noise.
The bridge before Ambodromamy was begins in 1931 and was one of the first copper chromium stainless steel
Arrived at Ambondromamy you have the choice between going to Majunga to 169 km on the RN 4 or continue by the RN 6 to Nosy Be (to 450 km) or Diego Suarez (to 654 km).
You exit Ambondromany direction Mahajanga and during 20 km, you will know that rutted road means. At PK 47, you turn left. The Ankarafantsika National Park awaits you just a few metres away. Caution you will see many signs of the park along the N4 : they are there for the delimiting.
Park in Majunga, 106 km await you : tropical savanna and dry savanna occur. You will walk along a large lake at the PK 43 which is actually a dam for irrigation of the rice fields that stretch down out of sight.
2 to 3 km after Ankazomborona (PK 43), You can turn left towards Marovoay, Lake Kinkony (to 131 km and several hours) and the splendid Bay of Baly (to 200 km and still more hours) by a bad track.
Otherwise go straight to Majunga and you can join the Lake Kinkony, the splendid Bay of Baly and the Namoroka National Park taking the ferry in Majunga to Katsepy.
Check beforehand that the ferry is not down !
Finally Majunga ! The city of flowers, its port at the mouth of the Betsiboka in the Red waters of laterite and especially its port for dhows, its multi baobab centenary on the waterfront if living Friday and Saturday night, its royal reliquary and its sunset.
Majunga weekend lives along its corniche around his old baobab centuries-old.
You can enjoy some grilled fish, shrimp or lobster
Majunga, you will quickly go to long and beautiful white sandy beaches (less than 10km to the North), grandiose Cirque red lateritic cliffs (17 km), Ecoparc Reniala, to a lesser extent the Lake sacred Magatsa (10 km from the airport fence) and the Anjohibe caves (80 km exit from Majunga to Tana then turn left).
Come and enjoy this enchanting spectacle ; but be careful, be aware that the road is long.
