The Tour Malin Blog:
Advice, News and Inspiration

The Fianarantsoa-Côte Est (FCE) Railway is a colonial-built railway in southeastern Madagascar that connects the high plateau city of Fianarantsoa to the port city of Manakara. 163 kilometers long, it was built by the French between 1926 and 1936 thanks to the work program […]

On Madagascar's west coast, it is ships, not cars or trucks, that connect isolated fishing villages. Malagasy vessels—specifically schooners with two or more masts, usually with fore and aft sails—are considered much more reliable and cheaper […]

When you have finished a journey of discovery in the interior of Madagascar and you want to end on a note of blue and sun, there is only one way. The northern seas of Madagascar bathe in sunshine almost all year round. All around the island, there are small strings of islets […]

Since ancient times, the world has always worshiped spiritual entities and cultivated a belief emanating from stars and stars. Madagascar has been influenced by several cultures and is not left out when it comes to astrology and divination. For many Malagasy, astrology falls within the competence […]

MADAGASCAR AND ITS “SMALL FIVE” Madagascar is located a few hundred kilometers from the great African continent but has not experienced the same evolution in terms of fauna. In Africa, we are proud to have the “Big Five” and why Madagascar could not be entitled to its “Five”. As on the island, there is no […]

Circumcision in Madagascar ‒ Here in Madagascar, despite a rather harsh winter, people do not forget to cultivate their joie de vivre. It is between the months of July to October that we feel the festive spirit awakening. In short, winter in Madagascar is traditionally festive: Famadihana (exhumation of the dead), […]

A long-standing project of the Malagasy authorities, the electronic visa is now a reality accessible online to tourists from all countries. More than two years after the initial announcement, tourists, especially French tourists, can now claim their non-immigrant e-Visa on the government site: evisamada.gov.mg in addition to the possibilities of obtaining them at the embassy before departure. […]

In terms of nature and culture, Madagascar has something to satisfy the curiosity of the most adventurous travellers. Bathing off the African coast for a few million years, this island has generated its own nature in its own evolution, far from all predation. Currently, it has one of the highest endemicity rates in the world […]

This would be a novel and probably mostly unsuccessful approach, but the “stinky flirt”, or spraying a "foul" odor, seems to work for the ring-tailed lemur when it comes to attracting a mate. However, the first in-depth study of the creatures' behavior also established that it can lead to the dissolution of friendships between males. […]