{"id":9857,"date":"2025-04-13T14:23:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T12:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madamagazine.com\/?p=9857"},"modified":"2025-04-15T13:47:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:47:27","slug":"schutzgebiet-bobangira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madamagazine.com\/en\/schutzgebiet-bobangira\/","title":{"rendered":"Protected area Bobangira"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobangira:<\/h3>\n

The name of the protected area is derived from the Malagasy words boba<\/em> for many and angira<\/em> for certain trees or a forest. Bobangira therefore simply means \u2018many trees\u2019.<\/p>\n

Please note: The protected area should not be confused with a reserve of the same name near Antalaha a little further south, which is also called \u2018Macolline Forest\u2019 – this article is not<\/strong> about the latter. This is about the protected area \u2018Domaine de Bobangira\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
One of the jungle giants in Bobangira compared to a human being<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Location:<\/h3>\n

The Bobangira reserve is located around 100 km north of Sambava and 45 km south of Vohimarina (Voh\u00e9mar) on the north-east coast<\/a> of Madagascar. There are weekly domestic flights<\/a> to Sambava from the capital Antananarivo. From both cities, the reserve can be reached by off-road vehicle or taxi<\/a> via the tarmac RN5a<\/a> (about one and a half to two hours’ drive from Sambava). However, the last 18 kilometres to Bobangira from the village of Analovana are completely off-road and difficult to plan depending on the time of year<\/a>. The off-road track also crosses several rivers, which are often impassable even with off-road vehicles in the rainy season<\/a>. However, it is often possible to get a lift on a motorbike or bicycle from villagers.<\/p>\n

Information about the protected area:<\/h3>\n

Bobangira comprises 0.297 km\u00b2 of rainforest directly on the beach of the Indian Ocean. For many years, the site was owned by Madagascar’s Ministry of Environment, Ecology and Forests (Minist\u00e8re de l\u2018environement, de l\u2019\u00e9cologie et des f\u00f4rets<\/a>, MEEF). It was not until 2016 that the site was acquired by Bruno Lee Sio Tsion, Vice President of the regional tourist office in Sambava, and declared a protected area in the same year. Travellers have been able to visit Bobangira since 2019. The local rainforest is a very special habitat, as it has become extremely rare in Madagascar as a so-called gallery forest. The low location directly on the ocean has long been the undoing of most of these forests, as they are very prone to logging<\/a> and slash-and-burn<\/a> agriculture.<\/p>\n

Climate:<\/h3>\n

The north-east of Madagascar is warm all year round, with temperatures above 30\u00b0C being the norm. During the rainy season<\/a>, there is very high humidity, which makes hiking relatively strenuous. There are also quite a lot of mosquitoes in the lowlands. Long but airy clothing and sun protection for the head is a good choice here.<\/p>\n