Ambatomiatendro, place for “fanorona” and inspiration,

It is a paramount object for guided visits on the hill of Ambohimanga, about twenty kilometres north of the capital. Ambatomiatendro is on the southern part of the hill of Ambohimanga, from where began the reunification of the Imerina Kingdom, in the center of Madagascar. Ambatomiatendro allows a panoramic view on the plains of Antananarivo and on the capital’s main hill where the Queen’s palace currently stands. 

According to historians, king Andrianampoinimerina used to play the fanorona on this rock, the Malagasy traditional strategy game. He allegedly planed there the conquest of Antananarivo, Madagascar’s future center, and the conquest of other surrounding kingdoms.  

A small turn close to Ambatomiatendro always allows at the time of one visit of the hill of Ambohimanga, to enjoy the typical landscapes of the capital’s outskirts; Landscape punctuated by plains, the rice fields, and hills currently invaded by constructions of different kinds some of which already go back to the middle of the last century.