Ambohimanga

We hired a driver to rent a car to visit the place and other places around Antana. The guide was great, spoke good English and learned a lot about the UNESCO World Heritage Site. As others mentioned, this palace admired by Madagascar is crowded with students. The guide explained the rhythm well, giving us time to ask questions and feedback. The scenery here is beautiful. I highly recommend visiting this place to learn about the history of Madagascar.

The king's palace and the French style Queen's summer house are situated on the top of the Blue Mountains (beautiful), and the view from Tanner Island behind is equally stunning. The place is small and the terrain is very steep but easy to reach. For locals, it is still a sacred place, especially the huge heart-shaped stone. I recommend buying a guide to explain all this. Also walk through the garden to the viewing platform at the top of the mountain. It’s about an hour or so from Tanner Island, and a half-day tour is great, or like us, spend a few hours here before the afternoon flight.

The surrounding trees are lush. The Royal Blue Mountain Palace in Ambuhimanga is located 20 kilometers north of the capital Antana, consisting of the Imperial City, the Royal Cemetery and a group of sacrifice buildings. For the past 500 years, the Blue Mountains Palace has been a place of religious ceremonies and sacrifices, linked to strong national sentiments, and the Blue Mountains have been a place of worship for pilgrims in Madagascar and around the world.

Along the walls are three multi-layered shelves, which feature kitchen knives, oil lamps and clay dishes, as well as five stone grills used as a stove and a seven-fork grill. On the board wall hung a double-edged javelin, three single-edged javelin, a saber and three bullhorns, among other weapons.

From the traces of the foundation, the original house was divided into five rooms, and now the interior is furnished with two wooden beds. One is a high-legged wooden bed, which is used by the king and the other is used by the concubines.