Avenue of the Baobabs

The Avenue of the Baobabs, also called the Alley of the Baobabs, lines a stretch of the unpaved Road No. 8 between Morondava and Belon'i Tsiribihina in the Menabe region of western Madagascar. It lies a short drive north-east of Morondava and is one of the most photographed places in the country.

About 20 to 25 baobabs stand along a 260-metre section of the road, with around 25 more scattered over the nearby rice paddies and meadows. They are Grandidier's baobabs, Adansonia grandidieri, a species found only in Madagascar, and they reach about 30 metres in height with smooth, column-like trunks topped by a small crown of branches.

The trees are survivors of a dense tropical forest that once covered the area and was cleared over time for farming. Local people kept the baobabs standing because of their cultural value and because their fruit, bark and leaves provide food and building materials. About 7 km to the north-west, the Baobab Amoureux are two trees of a different species, Adansonia za, twisted around each other and linked to a local legend of two lovers.

The site was given temporary protected status in July 2007 and has been conserved as a natural monument since July 2015. Deforestation, runoff from the rice fields and bush fires remain threats, and the Malagasy organisation Fanamby has run an ecotourism project here since 2014.

Most visitors come at sunset or sunrise, when the trunks stand out against the sky and the light is softer. A parking fee of 5,000 ariary (under US$2) is collected at the site, and a few tourist stalls sell crafts nearby. The road is passable in the dry season from about April to November, but rain can make it muddy, and Morondava has the nearest hotels and an airport with flights from Antananarivo.

Malagasy people call these trees renala or reniala, from reny ala, mother of the forest. The roughly 25 baobabs outside the roadside line grow within about 4 hectares of fields around the avenue, so walking a short way along the paddy bunds gives different angles with fewer people in the frame. Fanamby, which began its ecotourism project in 2014, opened visitor infrastructure at the site in 2018.

Sunset draws the biggest crowds, while sunrise brings softer light and far fewer visitors. Stay on the road edge or marked paths, since the fields are working farmland, and do not climb or carve the trees.