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'''Ilakaka is a small town in the south west of Madagascar along the R7 national route towards [[Tulear]]. Ilakaka is a sapphire boom town that has grown from less than 50 residents in the 90s to over 30,000 today. Since 2008 most of the worlds sapphire stones originate from this region, making Madagascar the world's largest sapphire exporter.'''

{| class="imageTable"|-|colspan="3" | [[File:Ilakaka 021.jpg|600px]]|-|[[File:Ilakaka 013.jpg|196px]]|align="center"|[[File:Ilakaka 001.jpg|196px]]|align="right"|[[File:Ilakaka 007.jpg|196px]]|-|[[File:Ilakaka 005.jpg|196px]]|align="center"|[[File:Ilakaka 006.jpg|196px]]|align="right"|[[File:Ilakaka 017.jpg|196px]]|} North of the road lies [[Isalo National Park]], which likely has large deposits of sapphires, but as the area is nature protected and mining is not permitted there. Most mining activity occurs directly south and east of the main road.  <googlemap version="0.9" lat="-22.697753" lon="45.21831" type="satellite" zoom="16" scale="yes" controls="large" style="width:100%;max-width:600px;">

Directly north The mining work is primarily carried out by Malagasy workers who are managed by small businesses and temporarily resident dealers, many of whom are of Sri Lankan, Thai or Chinese origin. The rough stones are usually brought to either Thailand or Sri Lanka for cutting. Various other smaller sapphire towns can be found along the road lies westwards, such as [[Antsotramadoro]] and [[Isalo National ParkSakahara]], which likely has large deposits of sapphires, but the area is nature protected where mining is not permitted. Most mining activity occurs directly south east of the main road.  == Accommodation ==

The mining work is primarely carried out by Malagasy workers managed by small businesses and temporary resident dealers who come mostly from Sri Lanka and Thailand, where they bring the rough stones for cutting'''Friends Hotel'''<br>Tel: +261 (0) 3314 95121 / 70676 / 71050<br><!-- Email: [mailto:friendsbungal@yahoo.fr friendsbungal@yahoo.fr] BOUNCED! -->

Further information on Ilakaka, see the * [[Madagascar Sapphire Rush]] article* [[Ilakaka photos]]* [http://www.madagemstones.com madagemstones.com]* [http://www.madagascar-gems.com madagascar-gems.com]* [http://www.madagems.com madagems.com]* http://www.thegmanifesto.com/2009/04/the-madagascar-sapphire-report.html* http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32962318