Antananarivo Province is a region of Madagascar on a plateau generally called "The Blue Forest".

Cities

• 1 Antananarivo — The largest city in the region and the national capital.
• 2 Antsirabe — An old colonial spa town located at an altitude of 1,500 m.

Understand

The region is dominated by the Merina people.

It was one of the country's six provinces which were abolished in 2007 in favour of creation of smaller regions to help in development.

It was badly affected by plagues in the 20th century. 

Get in

The airport in Antananarivo is the main hub for the country, while the one in Antsirabe has only local flights.

Get around

It takes 3 hr 30 min by taxi-brousse to travel the 162 km between Antsirabe and Antananarivo on national road 7.

See

Royal tombs at Ambohimanga

The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a traditional fortified royal settlement on a hill 24 km northeast of Antananarivo. One of the best preserved precolonial sites of Madagascar, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In Antananarivo, the Queen's Palace and Prime Minister's are good places to explore Madagascar's royal history. The Lemurs' Park gives an opportunity to see at close range a variety of lemurs, which would be much more difficult in one of Madagascar's National Parks or in a Western zoo. At the Croc Farm, you can watch the crocodiles, 80 other species of animals (turtles, snakes, lemurs) and see the smallest chameleon in the world.

Do

Antsirabe is a great place for hiking, mountain biking, or horse riding.