Toliara Province is a region in the southwest of Madagascar. It is the poorest region of the country, but home to many nature parks and reserves.

Cities

• 1 Toliara — a coastal city with a great arboretum
• 2 Ifaty — a pair of fishing villages that now host large numbers of tourists seeking sand and surf
• 3 Morondava —  an ideal place for a relaxing stay, with good beaches
• 4 Taolagnaro — the first permanent French settlement in the country has a 17th-century fort, a national park, and two natural reserves

Other destinations

• 1 Anakao — its long and white beach is good for fishing, diving and surfing
• 2 Berenty Reserve — world-famous for its lemurs, and home to a large colony of Madagascar flying foxes (fruit bats)
• 3 Isalo National Park — its varied terrain includes sandstone formations, deep canyons, palm-lined oases, and grassland
• 4 Kirindy Mite National Park —  (60 km south of Morondava) a seldom-visited national park that encompasses a wide variety of ecosystems: beaches, inland lakes, 7 offshore islands, spiny forest, vast Baobab forests, and extensive coastal mangroves

Understand

Baobab forest in Kirindy Mite National Park

Toliara was a province until provinces were abolished in 1997.

Masikoro Malagasy and Tandroy Malagasy are the chief languages.

The climate of southern Madagascar is a particularly dry semi-arid climate along the west coast. The lack of rainfall and the difficulties of water supply are recurring problems for the population, which has to face difficult lean periods between two harvests. In this region, locusts cause major damage to crops.

Get in

There are airports with commercial flights in Taolagnaro and Toliara.

Taxis brousses (mini-buses) are the cheapest way to get to Toliara. From Antananarivo, they take 18 - 24 hours to get to Toliara.

Many travellers rent a car and work their way down the RN7 over a few days. This is a great way to see a lot of different parts of the country. 

Get around

Taxis brousses are the main way of getting around.

See and do

Verraux's sifaka are one of three lemur species that are frequently seen in the Berenty Reserve during daylight hours

Reniala Forest Private Reserve, near Ifaty, protects 60 hectares of spiny forest, and a 1200-year-old baobab with a diameter of 12.5 meters. Ifaty also has a tortoise reserve.

The world-famous Avenue of the Baobabs in Morondava is a photographer’s paradise.

The Antsokay Arboretum in Toliara covers an area of 52 hectares, with more than 920 plant species, lemurs, radiated tortoises, snakes and chameleons. There is also an oceanographic museum where you can see a coelecanth that was fished nearby.

Taolagnaro is home to a 17th-century French fort.