Mantasoa: Jean Laborde's legacy, tourist site and place of tranquility

Mantasoa is a resort destination located approximately 70 km from Antananarivo. This weekend escape is ideal for relaxation and rest. Calm and serenity prevail in this locality that bears witness to Madagascar's first genuine period of industrialization. Today it stands as an open-air museum featuring an artificial lake, Jean Laborde's wooden house and tomb (its architect), ancient buildings and furnaces, and more.

Building an industrial center

When one thinks of Mantasoa, the lake immediately comes to mind. It all began with the construction of an industrial city where rifles, cannons and cannonballs, lightning rods, bricks, pottery, glass and porcelain objects, soap and candles, jewelry and sealing wax, paper, textiles, leather, artificial flowers, musical instruments and spirits were manufactured.

When Queen Ranavalona I wanted to industrialize the country independently, without European assistance, she gave free rein to Jean Laborde. In 1837, he envisioned a city that he sketched with his own hand on marshy terrain surrounded by partially forested hills dotted with gneiss. The site was cleared to dig canals, build dikes, construct stone buildings and several furnaces for cementation, pottery, lime and metalwork. The construction of the blast furnace (named "afo mahery") was completed in 1841.

Creating an artificial lake and city

The marshes were transformed into artificial lakes to serve as a water reservoir, to regulate the course of the Ikopa River and to protect the Betsimitatatra plain and its rice paddies from flooding. A canal distributed hydraulic energy to machines and furnaces. In this city that Jean Laborde named "Soatsimanampiovana," meaning eternal beauty, activities also included sericulture, powder magazines and warehouses. A zoo with African antelopes was even established to entertain the queen.

Workers and overseers lived in dwellings with red-tiled roofs. Officers and the Prime Minister stayed regularly in pleasure houses. Of course, the queen had her own residence, equipped with a swimming pool whose water was constantly refreshed. This house was dominated by a throne from which she enjoyed watching workers toil and listening to the noise of factories, hydraulic wheels and boring machines. Jean Laborde also built his house and tomb there, following Malagasy custom.

Vacation village and water sports

Activities at Mantasoa's industrial complex ceased when Jean Laborde went into exile in Réunion in 1855. Everything was left abandoned until the colonial period, when hydraulic wheels began turning again, machine tools were reused and electric motors restarted. The old buildings were converted into a military post and regional school. The site became a park where visitors could discover the faded glory of this industry, Jean Laborde's wooden house and his tomb. The dam still serves to irrigate 6,000 hectares of rice paddies, holding up to 125 million cubic meters of water.

With your travel agency in Madagascar, you can enjoy the lake, which today offers numerous water activities, including speedboat cruises, water skiing, paddle boats, fishing and more. An sturgeon farm was recently installed here. The lake shores are dotted with charming hotels offering peaceful stays far from the capital's hustle. These establishments also organize hiking, cycling, quad and horseback excursions in the surrounding area. A eucalyptus forest perched at 1,500 meters elevation immerses visitors in an enchanted world. Crocodiles, tortoises, snakes, chameleons, sifakas (lemurs) and butterflies delight the journey!