Category: Madagascar

Masoala National Park is the largest protected area in Madagascar, a stretch of coastal rainforest where the trees run down to coral reefs and the only way in is by boat. Visitors come for the red ruffed lemur, the aye-ayes…

Madagascar holds over 400 reptile species with more than nine in ten found nowhere else, and none of the snakes is dangerous to humans. The headline groups are the leaf-tailed geckos, whose camouflage is the best in the natural world,…

The Tsiribihina river descent runs two or three days by pirogue from Miandrivazo down to Belo sur Tsiribihina, camping on sandbanks and passing villages reachable no other way. It is flat water rather than whitewater, and the appeal is the…

Madagascar carries a high malaria risk across the whole country except Antananarivo, so prophylaxis is standard advice for nearly every visitor. Yellow fever vaccination is required only if you arrive from or transit a country where the virus is present.…

Midongy du Sud, also called Befotaka-Midongy, protects the second largest rainforest in Madagascar across roughly 1,920 square kilometres of the southeastern escarpment. It is among the least visited national parks in the country, reached by 200 km of poor road…

Eating out in Madagascar is inexpensive and better than most visitors expect, with Antananarivo holding the widest range thanks to ingredients arriving from every region and a lasting French influence on the upper end. Coastal towns eat well on seafood,…

Five sea turtle species occur in Malagasy waters and two nest regularly: green turtles and hawksbills. Both are present year-round around Nosy Be, so snorkelling with them needs no particular season. Nesting is different, with Nosy Iranja the main site…

A 5-day Madagascar itinerary covers one destination and nothing else, and the right one for almost everybody is Andasibe-Mantadia. Five days means three usable ones after arrival and departure, which rules out any circuit and most flights. Travellers who accept…

Antsirabe is Madagascar's highland spa town, sitting at around 1,500 metres on the RN7 with thermal springs, colonial architecture and thousands of hand-pulled pousse-pousse rickshaws working its wide avenues. It is the standard first overnight stop heading south from the…

The cost of travelling in Madagascar is lower than most visitors expect on the ground and higher than they expect to arrange. Food, accommodation and park fees are inexpensive by international standards, while vehicle hire and domestic flights dominate almost…