Edition 44: Autumn 2008

Experience a place where the word ‘unique’ doesn’t begin to describe the strange mix of plants and animals, the truly stunning and fragile environment or the varied landscapes of this 165-million-year-old paradise. Aaron Anderson and Becca Blond, authors of Lonely Planet’s Madagascar guide, tell you why it’s worth the pricey trek just to get here.

Madagascar. The name alone brings to mind exotic images of a Noah’s Ark-like island floating adrift off the coast of southeastern Africa. People come here to hike through extraordinary national parks, looking for lemurs and other species found only on this miraculous island. They also venture here to laze under palm trees on unspoilt tropical beaches like Nosy Be and Île Sainte Marie, and to discover a culture that is as exceptional and downright weird as this fascinating country’s out-of-this world scenery.

Separated from the mainland some 165 million years ago, Madagascar has met its evolutionary challenge of isolation head on, and today is home to a cargo load of flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet. From shy stares of wide-eyed lemurs to an alley of thousand-year-old baobabs, to forests of spiny red rock, Madagascar is always putting on an amazing show of biodiversity. The country’s central highlands are rich in culture, and here you may have the chance to attend a Famadihana ceremony, the Malagasy’s most sacred ritual.

A French colony until 1960, Madagascar is working hard to shrug off its colonial legacy. Today it is luring tourists with its rich natural environments, stories of past pirate colonies, and the chance for exotic, raw travel. Be forewarned – independent travel here can be difficult and uncomfortable, and requires a lot of patience. French language skills will help you greatly. But if you’re up for a Robinson Crusoe-like experience, then you’ll find travel around the world’s oldest island nothing short of exhilarating.

Madagascar is one of Africa’s last great frontiers. What are you waiting for? Explore.

Antananarivo
Madagascar’s undulating capital city, known simply as Tana, resembles a Mediterranean hill town with a very African heart. Walking is a rewarding way to explore as it allows you to observe working Malagasy life, and really get a taste for Tana’s spirit, while taking in the rich cultural, historical and architectural sites. However, this mode of transport will have your legs burning – the city is filled with hundreds of ancient stone steps and steep twisting roads.

Tsiribihina River
For a Zen experience, float leisurely down the Tsiribihina River in a wooden pirogue and camp for the night on sandbanks, beneath a million stars. The air is silent except for the plunk of the local piroguiers’ paddles splashing against the dark curtain of water. Lemurs hop from treetop to treetop and fish swim alongside your boat. Floating down the 146km stretch of river allows you to experience a remote Madagascar, one that is unreachable by road.

Parc National de l’Isalo
Looking like a different planet, Isalo is filled with a hauntingly beautiful landscape that hosts endemic plants, sacred Bara burial sites and ringtail, brown and sifaka lemurs. Giant boulders and flaxen fields are broken by giant spears of ashy grey and pockmarked rock rising up up up into the terracotta horizon. Parc National de l’Isalo may just be the most impressive park in the country (it’s also one of the most popular). For solitude, trek deep inside, where you’ll discover a magic world of weird bugs, waterfalls tumbling into deep canyons and velvet valleys singing with the calls of birds, lemurs and insects.

Anakao
Blessed with an entrancing semicircle beach of white sand, a slice of turquoise water and a fringe of emerald green vegetation, a stay at Anakao is perfect for recuperating from a tough journey. Admire the hundreds of brightly painted pirogues rocking gently in the breaking waves, or take the plunge – most of Anakao’s dive sites are around the nearby island of Nosy Ve, a former haunt of pirates.

Avenue du Baobabs
Madagascar’s most famous boulevard, the Avenue de Baobabs, is outside Morondava and is a must if you are in the region. Just walking its length, checking out the long line of gnarled old trees framing both sides of the road, is a pretty memorable experience. Even more so when you realise that each baobab is more than a thousand years old. They must be among the slowest growing trees on earth. But riding a quad bike down the brown dirt path is a different experience entirely – rev your engine, feel the wind in your hair and watch the trees roll by in fast-forward.

Parc National de Ranomafana
Trekking through Parc National de Ranomafana’s 40,000ha of oddly shaped rolling hills and misty, magical cloud forest is a soul-soothing experience. The air always feels fresh and cool (it can rain anytime), and the scenery is beyond spectacular – it is justifiably one of Madagascar’s most popular parks. Visit for fabulous forest walks, lemur-spotting and excellent tourist facilities, including a posh new resort and a well-organised information centre.

Andilana, Nosy Be
At the island’s northwest tip, Andilana’s beach is by far Nosy Be’s crown jewel. A paradise of white sand, swaying palms and the most postcard worthy turquoise water around, it is also one of Nosy Be’s least developed beaches. The long beach is perfect for sunbathing, and the stalls on its southern side sell the best raffia beach bags in Madagascar – just look for the vibrant colours and patterns. Andilana is appealing to anyone seeking romantic beauty and relative tranquillity.

Réserve Spéciale de l’Ankàrana
An arresting and undeveloped fantasyland that’s home to sights not observed anywhere else on earth: psychedelic forests of ruby red tsingy (limestone pinnacles) sit next to semi-dry forests where nocturnal, sportive lemurs pop their heads out of holes by your feet. Running through and under the tsingy are hidden canyons and subterranean rivers, some containing crocodiles. There are bat-filled grottoes and mysterious caves steeped in legend and history, where traditional rites are still held and fady (local taboos) must be strictly observed. Don’t touch anything or make any noise. The massif is considered sacred to the Antakàrana, who took refuge from the Merina among its tsingy and caves – several of their kings are buried here.

Famadihana in the central highlands
The most sacred cultural ceremony in Madagascar is Famadihana, which literally means ‘the turning of the bones’. During festivals, held in the central highlands, families exhume the bodies of their loved ones and dance the dead around in a merry throng. However, it’s not all song and dance – family members also take time to sit quietly with their loved one’s remains in their laps. The Malagasy offer their deceased, whether they are a grandmother, husband, sister or son, sips of homemade rum and catch them up on the latest village gossip. The festivals are held June through September each year, but individual bodies are only exhumed once every seven years. In Madagascar, death is viewed as sad, but not negative – it is simply a passing to a better world. Most Malagasy are not opposed to foreigners attending the festivities, but bring a bottle of rum and avoid fady (local taboos) – ask around for the particulars before attending.