Isalo, Toliara & the South

The south-west was settled by peoples who became the Vezo fishers of the coast, the Masikoro farmers and herders inland, and the Mahafaly and Antandroy of the dry far south, with the Antanosy around Fort Dauphin. In the 17th century the Sakalava founded the kingdom of Menabe, around the Tsiribihina and Morondava rivers, and from there expanded north; the Sakalava of Menabe still honour their royal ancestors.

Europeans arrived early. Portuguese sailors reached the south-east coast in the 16th century, and in 1643 the French East India Company founded Fort Dauphin, whose governor Étienne de Flacourt wrote the first detailed European account of the island; conflict with the Antanosy led to its abandonment in 1674. Toliara, founded near St Augustine's Bay, later became a port for European traders.

The south resisted the Merina, who never fully controlled it, and the French conquered it only in the early 20th century. Under colonial rule, the prickly pear cactus that sustained Antandroy cattle through dry seasons was wiped out in the 1920s by an introduced insect, causing famine. Since independence, repeated droughts, known as kere, have brought hunger to the far south, most recently in the early 2020s. A mineral sands mine near Fort Dauphin and tourism along the RN7 are the main modern investments.

The south is the most distinctive part of Madagascar culturally. The Vezo are defined by their way of life, fishing from pirogues under sail and paddle and moving along the coast with the seasons. The Mahafaly and Antandroy build large stone tombs topped with carved wooden posts called aloalo, which often tell the story of the dead person's life, and the skulls of zebu sacrificed at the funeral; a wealthy family's funeral can last days and consume many cattle.

Zebu are the measure of wealth and status among the Bara, Mahafaly and Antandroy, and cattle raiding was once a rite of passage for young men before it became organised crime. Among the Sakalava of Menabe, royal relics are honoured in the fitampoha ceremony in Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, held at intervals of several years.

Religion blends Christianity with strong ancestral belief, and fady are strict: certain foods, places and days are forbidden to certain clans. Tsapiky, a fast guitar-led music, comes from the south-west around Toliara and is played at celebrations and funerals.

Toliara, with about 170,000 people, is the region's city and port. Morondava, Fort Dauphin (Tolagnaro), Ambovombe, Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, Sakaraha and Betioky are the other main towns, and much of the rural population lives in scattered villages far from paved roads.

The economy rests on cattle, fishing, cassava, maize and sweet potatoes in the dry south, rice in the river valleys of Menabe, sisal around Amboasary, and mining, including the mineral sands mine near Fort Dauphin and sapphire diggings around Sakaraha. Tourism centres on Isalo, Ifaty, Anakao, Morondava and Fort Dauphin.

Life is shaped by water: in the far south, people may walk long distances to find water, and in drought years many migrate north in search of work. Deforestation for charcoal and farming threatens the spiny forest, and insecurity from dahalo raids weighs heavily on rural communities.

Rice is less dominant here than anywhere else in Madagascar. In the dry south, cassava, maize and sweet potato are staples, eaten boiled, pounded or grilled, and the fruit of the prickly pear, where it grows again, is still an important food in lean seasons. Zebu meat is eaten mainly at funerals and ceremonies, when cattle are sacrificed, and sour milk and curds are traditional foods of the herding peoples.

On the coast, the Vezo live on fish, octopus, squid, crab and sea urchins, grilled or cooked with coconut or tomato, and dried and salted fish is traded inland.

Tamarind flavours juices and sweets, and on the west coast the fruit of the baobab is eaten in the short season when it ripens, near the end of the rains.

Along the RN7, Isalo National Park, just across the line in the Ihorombe region but approached on the road to Toliara, is a sandstone massif of canyons, natural swimming pools and palm oases around Ranohira. Further on, Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park protects dry forest with birds and lemurs.

Toliara is the base for the coast. To the north, Ifaty and Mangily have beaches behind the reef, snorkelling and the spiny forest of the Reniala reserve, with baobabs and octopus trees. To the south, Anakao, reached by boat, has Vezo villages and the island of Nosy Ve, with red-tailed tropicbirds, while Lake Tsimanampetsotsa, an alkaline lake with flamingos, lies further south.

In the far south, the spiny forest reaches its most striking form around Cap Sainte-Marie, the island's southernmost point, and near Amboasary, where the Berenty reserve shelters ring-tailed lemurs and sifakas along the Mandrare river. Fort Dauphin sits on a peninsula with beaches and mountains behind the town, and Andohahela National Park, which spans rainforest and spiny forest.

In the west, Morondava's Avenue of the Baobabs is the island's best-known view, and Kirindy forest, to the north, is known for the fossa. Beyond the Tsiribihina, the Tsingy de Bemaraha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of limestone pinnacles and gorges, lies just over the region's northern boundary in Melaky and is reached by track from Morondava.