Nosy Mangabe is a small island reserve located in Antongil Bay

Antongil Bay

Helodranon' Antongila , more commonly called Antongil Bay in English, is the largest bay in Madagascar. It is at the northern end of the east coast of the island and for administrative purposes it is within Analanjirofo Region. The bay is about 60 km long and 30 km wide, and is formed by...

 about 2 km offshore from the town of Maroantsetra

Maroantsetra

Maroantsetra is a market town and domestic seaport in Analanjirofo Region, Madagascar. It is located on the Bay of Antongil near .Maroantsetra is the main point of access to Masoala National Park and the Nosy Mangabe special reserve, and the headquarters of the park authority.Access to the town is...

 in eastern Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. 520ha in size, it is accessible by small boat and is part of the larger Masoala National Park

Masoala National Park

Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and 100 square kilometres of marine parks. The Masoala...

 complex. It is a tropical rainforest preserve and sanctuary for the endangered aye-aye

Aye-aye

The aye-aye is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth and a special thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker...

. It lies close enough to town for a day trip, although an overnight stay is recommended for seeing the nocturnal aye-aye. The island has a rich history of trading and piracy; on the west side of the island are rock carvings by Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 sailors from the 16th century. British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 writer Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams

Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...

 visited the island searching for the aye-aye in one of his lesser known books, Last Chance to See

Last Chance to See

Last Chance to See is a 1989 BBC radio documentary series and its accompanying book, written and presented by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine. In the series, Adams and Carwardine travel to various locations in the hope of encountering species on the brink of extinction...

. There are no permanent settlements on the island, a campsite with bathroom and kitchen facilities serves as a base camp for biologists, researchers and eco-tourists

Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...

.