Nosy Be

Nosy Be lies off the northwestern coast of Madagascar, among islands and sheltered bays of the Mozambique Channel. Volcanic hills and crater lakes rise above the shore, while reefs and mangroves border its waters. Across the channel on the mainland stood Mahilaka, a medieval trading town linked to the Comoros and the East African coast. The island belongs to a maritime landscape long visited by sailors crossing the western Indian Ocean.