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'''Sambirano is an area in the north west northwest of Madagascar, which is especially known for the production of high quality cocoacacao, also known as the "green gold" of Sambirano.The name refers to the Sambirano Valley as well as the [[Sambirano River]] which runs from the foothills of the [[Tsaratanana Massif]] into the Ampasindava Bay where it joins with the Ramena River, south of [[Ambanja]].'''

The name also refers to the Sambirano River that flows from [[Tsaratanana Massif]], the highest peak of the island, into the Ampasindava Bay where it joins with Ramena river, south of [[AmbanjaFile:Sambirano 091.jpg|600px]].

Due to the proximity of the Tsaratanana mountain range and trade winds, a particular microclimatemicro-climate occurs in the Sambirano region. During the rainy season, the river floods and deposits extremlyextremely fertile alluvia along its river banks, which provides providing ideal conditions for many types of crops, especially cocoa.All three varieties of cooca grow throughout the year along the river banks of Sambirano, but with two peak seasons: Juneand July and October and Novembercacao. The river is divided into two parts, the upper Sambirano (upstream) and the lower Samirano (downstream). <!-- Harvesting between from ... to ... is done along the upstream part and from ... to ... along the downstream part. -->

Malagasy cocoa has special charactaristics due to the particular climate and soil along the {| class="imageTable"|-|colspan="3" | [[File:Sambirano river101. The total cocoa harvest grown in the region contains about 10 percent Criollo beans (cocoa grown elsewhere usually contain about five percent)jpg|600px]]|-|[[File:Sambirano 102. Cocoa from Sambirano is especially suited for making top quality, low bitterness dark chocolate and is used for the production of premium quality Malagasy chocolate brands such as jpg|196px]]|align="center"|[[Chololatiere RobertFile:Sambirano 103.jpg|196px]] and |align="right"|[[CinagraFile:Sambirano 104.jpg|196px]].|}

All three varieties of cacao grow throughout the year along the river banks of Sambirano, but with two peak seasons: June/July and October/November. The river is divided in two parts, the upper Sambirano (upstream) and the lower Sambirano (downstream). <!-- Harvesting between from ... to ... is done along the upstream part and from ... to ... along the downstream part. --> {| class="imageTable"|-|colspan="3" | [[File:Sambirano 086.jpg|600px]]|-|[[File:Sambirano 016.jpg|196px]]|align="center"|[[File:Sambirano 026.jpg|196px]]|align="right"|[[File:Sambirano 084.jpg|196px]]|-|[[File:Ambanja_034.jpg|196px]]|align="center"|[[File:Sambirano_001.jpg|196px]]|align="right"|[[File:Ambanja_035.jpg|196px]]|} Malagasy cacao derives its special characteristics from the unique climate and soil along the Sambirano River. The cacao harvest grown in the region can contain up to 10% Criollo beans (cacao grown elsewhere typically contain about 5% Criollo). Cacao harvested from Sambirano is especially suited for high quality, low bitterness dark chocolate and is used by premium quality [[Madagascar Chocolate|Malagasy chocolate]] brands such as [[Chocolaterie Robert]], [[Cinagra]] and [[Chocolaterie Colbert]]. Sambirano cacao is also exported by numerous[[chocolate makers using Madagascar cocoa]] in their products. <googlemap version="0.9" lat="-13.707701688688" lon="48.387566450737" type="satellite" zoom="12" controls="large" style="width:100%;max-width:600px;">-13.710035687854, 48.387222452454Sambirano ValleyRiver, where it runs through [[Ambanja]]

[[File:Sambirano 033.jpg|600px]] == Further Additional information == * View all [[Sambirano photos]] * [[Sambirano Cocoa Tour]] - bike tour through the cocoa region (7 nights)* [[Sambirano Trekking Tour]] - trekking tour along the Sambirano River (5 nights) * [[Issouf - a cacao farmer in Sambirano, Madagascar]]