This village in the Sambirano Valley owes its name to the "javy"(aquatic plant), located on the lake and which navigate there by following the current. It is located in the northwestern part of the Big Island, in the DIANA region near Ambanja. The humid tropical climate is favourable to plantations of export crops such as vanilla, coffee or even pepper but perfume plants such as ylang, combava and vetiver are also famous to this area. Constituting particularly the estates of the production of cocoa beans in Madagascar, this region attracts domestic and foreign tourists thanks to the cocoa trees that run along the landscape of this village. The cocoa from Madagascar seduces the world with its quality, despite the small share it represents in world production.

 

The stories related to the sacred lake are multiple and from different sources. Formerly, according to legend, Sakalava were surrounded by their Merina brothers during a battle and decided to sacrifice themselves by throwing themselves into this stream and have always remained there. Some say they have turned into crocodiles, while other oral traditions claim that they have turned into fish. It became a tourist attraction thanks to its historical dimension, the lake knew to keep its sacred character and is the object of worship regularly. "The geniuses see us, they hear us, bless or chastise also in case of disrespect ..." says a villager. These ancestors send signs to the descendants through the javy following their displacement (North or South, East or West). This is why this group of javy is also called "the floating island" because it moves on the lake to the winds.