What's on in Antananarivo (Madagascar), Madagascar through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Highland dry season

  1 May – 30 Sep · usually

  Winter on the plateau is dry and bright and properly cold once the sun goes down. It is when the roads south are reliable, and when the tomb-turning season runs in the villages around the capital.

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Famadihana season

  15 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  Between harvest and the rains, highland families open the tomb, rewrap the ancestors in fresh silk and carry them round the village behind a brass band. It is a family occasion rather than a show; you go if you are invited. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  24–27 Jun · usuallyNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The 26th is the national day and the city stops for it: children's lantern processions the night before, a parade in the morning, and everything official shut either side. Source ↗

Still on: Highland dry season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Highland dry season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Famadihana season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Highland dry season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Famadihana season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Highland dry season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Famadihana season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Madajazzcar

  1–20 Oct · usuallyMajor festival

  The capital's jazz festival, running most of October across Antsahamanitra and the gardens at Antaninarenina, mixing Malagasy players with whoever has flown in for it. Source ↗

• Nature

  Jacarandas at Lake Anosy

  1 Oct – 15 Nov · usually

  Lake Anosy and the streets climbing to Antaninarenina go purple from the middle of October. It is the couple of weeks the city itself is worth stopping for, rather than the airport you pass through.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Cyclone season

  15 Nov – 15 Apr · usually

  Cyclones come ashore on the east coast, but the capital gets their tails: days of rain, the low quarters around Anosibe under water and the roads out of town cut. January to March is the likeliest stretch. Source ↗

Still on: Jacarandas at Lake Anosy (1 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))