Mont Passot

Highest point on the island with sunset views over volcanic crater lakes

At 329 metres, Mont Passot is the highest point on Nosy Be and the classic spot for sunset. The road to the top is paved and any taxi driver knows it. From the viewing platform you look down on a string of volcanic crater lakes that ring the summit, and out across the channel to the smaller islands.

Get there 45 minutes before sundown to claim a good spot. Vendors set up beside the road with cold beers and snacks; on a clear evening the colours over the lakes are remarkable.

things to do sight viewpoint
A story
The eleven crater lakes around Mont Passot are sacred to the Sakalava. Each lake is said to house ancestral spirits, and locals will tell you that crocodiles live in them — bathing is firmly fady (taboo). Whether or not crocodiles actually live there is contested; the taboo, like most fady on Nosy Be, is taken seriously regardless.