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Ambanja is the heart of the Sambirano region, which comprises the area along the course of the Sambirano River, from the [[Tsaratanana Massif]] down to [[Ampasindava Bay]]. The climate of the region is tropical with regular rainfall, providing ideal conditions for farming. The surroundings of Ambanja are characterised by many cacao plantations. About 60% of the population live from farming, and the most important crop is cacao. Other important crops include vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee, pepper and rice. One of the latgest largest cacao plantations in the area is the [[Millot Plantation]].

The town of Ambanja itself offers only a few attractions. Near the northern entrance of the town there is a big partially open-air fruit market, vegetable, meat, spice and just-about-everything marketplace. Along the town's main road a vast number of stalls are set up, selling sell second hand clothes, cooking equipment and other useful thingsutensils. At the other end of the town is a smaller, roof-covered fruit market named Bazar Bazary Be. Bazary Be just next to means large marketplace although it is the smaller of the two since it is the [[taxi-brousse]] stationfirst. The second, larger market, is further extended with stalls and traders every Friday. A few minutes walk from there Bazary Be a bridge crosses Sambirano.

[[File:Ambanja_052.jpg|600px]] [[File:Ambanja_053.jpg|600px]] [[File:Ambanja_054.jpg|600px]] Ambanja is best easily reached via Nosy Be, from where boats depart to [[Ankify|Ankify harbour]]. From Ankify it is about 18km to Ambanja. A drive by taxi-brousse from [[Antananarivo]] to Ambanja takes between 18 and 24 hours or longer depending on the road condition. <!-- The car ride from Ambanja to [[Diego Suarez]] (Antsiranana) (240km) along the [[RN6]] takes between 3 and 4 hours. ??? There is a domestic airport but which is currently not served by [[Air Madagascar]] (March 2012). -->