The Avenue or Alley of the Baobabs is a prominent group of baobab trees
lining the dirt road between Morondava and Belon'i Tsiribihina in
the Menabe region
in western Madagascar.
Its striking landscape draws travelers from around the world, making it one of
the most visited locations in the region. It has been a center of local
conservation efforts, and was granted temporary protected status in July 2007
by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, the first step toward making
it Madagascar's first natural monument.
Along
the Avenue in some 260 m long segment are remaining some 20 - 25
trees about 30 meters in height, of the species Adansonia grandidieri, endemic to
Madagascar. Some 20 - 25 more trees of this species grow in nearby rice
paddies and meadows.
Baobab
trees, up to 800 years old, known locally as renala (Malagasy for
"mother of the forest"), are a legacy of the dense tropical forests
that once thrived on Madagascar. The trees did not originally tower in
isolation over the sere landscape of scrub but stood in dense forest. Over the
years, as the country's population grew, the forests were cleared for
agriculture, leaving only the baobab trees, which the locals preserved as much
in respect as for their value as a food source and building material.
Some 7
km further to the northwest are located the famous Baobab Amoureux - two Adansonia za trees
twisted together. According to the legend these two loving baobabs came
and grew together across the centuries. Baobabs found themselves after an
impossible love between a young man and young woman of the nearby village.
However both had already an assigned partner and had to marry separately in
their respective villages. However, the impossible couple dreamed of a common
eternity life and having a child together and secretly asked help to their god.
Both baobabs were born and now live they for eternity as one as the couple
always wished.
The
area is not a national park, and the trees are threatened by further
deforestation, effluent from encroaching rice paddies and sugarcane plantations,
and bush and forest fires.Despite its popularity as a tourist destination, the
area has no visitor center or gate fees, and local residents receive little
income from tourism. Conservation
International in partnership with Fanamby, a Malagasy NGO, has
launched an ecotourism project
aimed at conservation of the area and economic improvement for the local
community