Mountain Tropical Rainforests

Andasibe is the centre of an extensive area with well-preserved Mountain Tropical Rainforest. Tourists can choose from no less than four parks to visit.

The National Park Andasibe, formerly known as Perinet is the oldest National Park in Madagascar.

Across the road the village association maintains the Mitsinjo Park with dedication and enthusiasm.

And between these two parks and the cute traditional village Andasibe the VOI MMA Park is run by the village committee that is responsible for the maintenance of their patch of primary forest.

Wildlife

In all three parks the Indri-Indri, Madagascar’s largest living lemur, can easily be spotted.

A little further away in the fourth park, the National Park Mantadia, the diademed sifaka and the black-and-white ruffed lemur can be found. And also at some distance, the Mitsinjo Park runs a swamp forest with for fanciers a mouth-watering variety of frogs and birds.

 

 

The tourist season is only half way through and Centre Lambahoany has nothing but satisfied customers.

The treks are by all considered the highlight of their journey in Madagascar. It ís a unique offer: only Centre Lambahoany works with the local population to organise treks in the rural community Fetraomby and adjoining communes.

Homestay with the hospitable villagers, enjoying their dance and music after hiking in the jungle to spot the indri-indri or one of the twelve other species of lemur whose habitat is the rainforest, nothing but fresh air, submerged in rural Madagascar.

 

 

 

The true Darwin island

A month of diversity spent in just a small part of a majestic country leaves me thinking how many wondrous things are left to see in this part of the world. An impression of our holiday can be read in the following excerpts.

Primary rainforests with lemurs, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, frogs, gekko’s and chameleons in all sorts and sizes. Not to mention medicinal plants, pandanuce, palmtrees, rose wood and palissander.

The Canal des Pangalanes with its awe-inspiring lakes, white sandy beaches and fishing villages and all this is just a stone’s throw away from the relentless crashing and beating of the Indian ocean. Watching the fishermen braving the waves in small pirogues at first dawn is something I’ll never forget.

The humpback whales, just of the Isle Sainte Marie, did justice to their reputation by jumping from the water, splashing their fins and tales and performing an occasional spy hop.

Exceptional ‘off the beaten track’ days with the people from Fetraomby and the surrounding villages of Andranaotra, Lanonana and Razanaka. Trekking through primary rainforest whilst seeing various kinds of truly wild lemurs, wading through rivers and rice paddies whilst eating bananas and anon fruit straight from the tree. Meeting people living a simple but happy life surrounded by nature and the ones they love.

Many thanks to George and Marcia, from Centre Lambahoany in Tamatave, for putting us in to contact with the lovely and kind people of Madagascar. I hope they will continue this important work for many years to come so the Malagasy people can profit from tourism without losing their culture and biodiversity.

 

Photo: Canal des Pangalanes, Wikipedia