MADAGASCAR WEST
Morondava is a sleepy seaside town on Madagascar’s west coast, with sand covered streets and old clapboard houses. There is not much to see or do in the town, but it is where you will arrive by plane to start your journey of Madagascar's West to explore the national parks and reserves, namely Kirindy Forest, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Belo Sur Mer.
Kirindy Forest is located about 50km north of Morondava, but the road isn’t great so the journey takes about 1 1/2 hours. On the way, you will pass Marofandila forest and Baobab Avenue, which is where you can get some awesome pictures of these amazing trees unobstructed by forest vegetation. As Madagascar’s population has expanded, trees have been cut down to make way for new houses and villages, but Baobab trees were left standing due to the religious purposes.
Kirindy Forest is home to the world’s smallest primate, Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, which weighs only 35grams. It is also the only home of the engandgered giant jumping rat, which is something of a strange hybrid between a rat and a kangaroo. Kirindy is known as one of the best places to spot a fossa, Madagascar’s largest carnivore. They can be seen all year here and have been spotted in daylight too in this area. Kirindy has a great diversity and density of primates and you may species such as red-tailed sportive lemur, pygmy mouse lemur, gray mouse lemur, pale fork-marked lemur, Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur and more.
Home to one of the most dramatic landscapes in Madagascar, Tsingy means place where one cannot walk barefoot, unless you are a lemur or a sifaka. And you will see why once you arrive. Tsingy is the name given giant grey rocks pinnacales which have formed due to water erosion of the underlying limestone structure. At Bemaraha National Park, these tsingy are connected by a series of walkways, ladders and suspension bridges, which will help you navigate this other-worldy landscape, but also steel ladders and cable ropes, enabling access to more narrow canyons. The lemurs do not need to walkway and are able to leap from tsingy to tsingy to get around. Depsite the difficult landscape, you will still find lemurs, sifakas and chameleons inside the park.
The park is difficult to get to. It is only open in dry season (May to November) and it can only be accessed via 4x4. Be prepared for a long and bumpy ride. Once you arrive, you can head into the park on the Manambolo River in a pirogue. The river cuts through a spectacular limestone gorge in the south of the park. The closest accommodation is 20km away in the village of Bekopaka.
The small village of Belo Sur Mer is the gateway Kirindy Mite National Park, where visitors have the chance to explore deciduous Baobab forests, Spiny forest on the dunes, mangrove forests and some good snorkelling. Belo Sur Mer itself is the centre of the traditional boat making trade, where dhows, boats and pirogues are still made by hand, the same way they were 400 years ago.
Belo Sur Mer is best visited in the dry season (May - November.) In the wet season, the road can become impassable.
Kirindy Forest is located about 50km north of Morondava, but the road isn’t great so the journey takes about 1 1/2 hours. On the way, you will pass Marofandila forest and Baobab Avenue, which is where you can get some awesome pictures of these amazing trees unobstructed by forest vegetation. As Madagascar’s population has expanded, trees have been cut down to make way for new houses and villages, but Baobab trees were left standing due to the religious purposes.
Kirindy Forest is home to the world’s smallest primate, Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, which weighs only 35grams. It is also the only home of the engandgered giant jumping rat, which is something of a strange hybrid between a rat and a kangaroo. Kirindy is known as one of the best places to spot a fossa, Madagascar’s largest carnivore. They can be seen all year here and have been spotted in daylight too in this area. Kirindy has a great diversity and density of primates and you may species such as red-tailed sportive lemur, pygmy mouse lemur, gray mouse lemur, pale fork-marked lemur, Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur and more.
Home to one of the most dramatic landscapes in Madagascar, Tsingy means place where one cannot walk barefoot, unless you are a lemur or a sifaka. And you will see why once you arrive. Tsingy is the name given giant grey rocks pinnacales which have formed due to water erosion of the underlying limestone structure. At Bemaraha National Park, these tsingy are connected by a series of walkways, ladders and suspension bridges, which will help you navigate this other-worldy landscape, but also steel ladders and cable ropes, enabling access to more narrow canyons. The lemurs do not need to walkway and are able to leap from tsingy to tsingy to get around. Depsite the difficult landscape, you will still find lemurs, sifakas and chameleons inside the park.
The park is difficult to get to. It is only open in dry season (May to November) and it can only be accessed via 4x4. Be prepared for a long and bumpy ride. Once you arrive, you can head into the park on the Manambolo River in a pirogue. The river cuts through a spectacular limestone gorge in the south of the park. The closest accommodation is 20km away in the village of Bekopaka.
The small village of Belo Sur Mer is the gateway Kirindy Mite National Park, where visitors have the chance to explore deciduous Baobab forests, Spiny forest on the dunes, mangrove forests and some good snorkelling. Belo Sur Mer itself is the centre of the traditional boat making trade, where dhows, boats and pirogues are still made by hand, the same way they were 400 years ago.
Belo Sur Mer is best visited in the dry season (May - November.) In the wet season, the road can become impassable.
where to stay...
Below you can find a selection of our favourite lodges in Madagascar's West. Those hotels include mainly our favourites sorted from low-key to deluxe, which are usually smaller hotels with very personalised service.
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Palissandre COTE Ouest - Morondava
Camp Amoureux - Kirindy
Relias du Kirindy - Kirindy
Entremer - Belo Sur mer
Le soleil des Tsingy - tsingy de bemaraha
Le Grand Hotel des Tsingy - Tsingy de Bemaraha
Olympe du Bemaraha - Bekopaka
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itineraries
Below you can find some sample itineraries with images of the different lodges in them trips though Madagascar's West,
but this list is by no means exhaustive. For bespoke itineraries, please contact us directly to discuss your project.
COMING SOON
but this list is by no means exhaustive. For bespoke itineraries, please contact us directly to discuss your project.
COMING SOON