The town of Antsiranana , which is always named Diego-Suarez, is located on a headland at the south of a splendid bay with its sugar loaf (the second in the world for its surface after that of Rio de Janeiro ). It is a place of predilection for the sailors, who like to make a call here.

   The city got its name from two Portuguese explorers Diego Diaz in 1500 and Fernando Suarez in 1506, but the Malagasy always call it Antsiranana, which means “that is at the seaside “.Antsiranana is swept from May to October by a current trade wind which contributes to offer a more pleasant temperature.

    Diego is encircled by the Amber Mountain culminating at 1475m and the French Mountain, more modest with its 426m height. 

   At the north of the city, the Amber cape, extreme point that advances proudly between the Indian Ocean and the Mozambique Channel.

   The general architecture of the city points out more than one half century of presence of the French Army. Military buildings, Hotel de la Marine, arsenal, roads and streets rectilinear and parallels are there to bear witness to its recent past.

    Carrefour rich of history, the city counts many communities for majority commercial but with various origins. Yemenis, Somali, Comorian, Arab, Chinese, Indo-Pakistanis, French cohabit with the population Antakarana and Sakalava.

    Also, you will appreciate the charm of the capital of the Northern Province, a city of about 100.000 inhabitants, with a tropical climate but well winded. It falls asleep in the middle of the day but becomes animated the morning and at the end of the afternoon, until late in the night in the bars and the discotheques. 

   The sportsmen and those who love nature will be particularly full of admiration. Many nautical and hiking activities will allow them to reach the exceptional sites of the area. The seniors can also discover these sites with 4WD vehicles.