The park of Andasibe is the easiest to reach from Tana, just 150km away. You meet there the largest lemurs: the Indri and diademed sifaka(propithecus diadema), both from the Indriidae family are monogamous and live in small groups. The Lemuridae are smaller and polygamous. Several brown lemurs jump from branch to branch, and with some luck, we also find the bamboo lemur. The night tour allows you to discover the smallest lemur – the microcebus – and also the smallest chameleon, the brookesia. Near Antasibe, the Vakona hotel has its own private reserves of lemurs, tamed on a small island. You can easily approach them, play and feed them, and they jump on your shoulder.
Lemurs Island in Vakona Hotel
Ranomafana Park is the habitat of other species of lemurs, including the Golden bamboo lemur or ‘red-belly’ (hapalemur aureus) who enjoys wild guavas and the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) eating so much bamboo that he must alternate with a some soil to neutralize the cyanide. The park also promises a lot of amphibians and snakes but they are mostly visible in the Summer (December to February).
lemur bamboo
The Anja Reserve is not so vast that the national parks but hosts 350 lemurs catta (like a cat) or maki, it’s hard to miss them! We are far from Ramanofana humid climate: it’s rather dry and arid here. You see the corresponding flora and fauna: many cacti and related products, lizards and snakes in mid-May. Adrien, met around the ‘l’hôtel des Bougainvilliers’ in Ambalavao, is an authority here: he participated in the creation of the reserve in 1998 to promote local development.
In the Isalo National Park, ring-tailed lemurs and several Verreaux’s (white) sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) show themselves near the camp used for the lunch break of the tour groups, but Isalo is especially worth visiting for its stunning landscapes (canyons, pools, waterfalls, etc.).
Isalo cirque