How to recognise Madagascar in a street photo

Dropzone #6 · 1 November 2026

Analamanga

12

How to tell

1. Old French Peugeot: Aging Peugeots and Renaults still running daily strongly suggest Madagascar's highlands.
2. Packed hillside of houses: Steep hills covered in tall, narrow brick houses fit Antananarivo's highland sprawl.
3. Cypress and bare pruned trees: Cool-climate trees and a dusty dry season point to high African plateau, not coast.

The red Peugeot catches the eye first, and in Africa that classic French car fleet, still running decades later, is a strong Madagascar signal. Next comes the backdrop: a steep hill stacked with narrow, colourful houses and red-tile roofs, under a grey sky with cypress trees and a leafless pollarded tree. That says cool highland, which rules out humid coastal Africa and most of the Sahel. Traffic keeps right, matching Madagascar. Corrugated metal fencing, dusty reddish earth at the kerb and concrete post-and-rail fences are all common around Antananarivo. A habit worth keeping: across Madagascar, look for old French cars, red laterite soil and brick houses with steep roofs.

Easily confused with

• Kigali, Rwanda: Rwanda has newer Japanese cars and very tidy streets, few old Peugeots.
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Ethiopia shows Amharic script and blue-white Lada taxis.

Remember: Old Peugeots plus crowded red-brick hills mean Madagascar's highland capital.