National Parks & reserves

Masoala: Masoala means “eyes of the forest”. The national park owes this name to the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), whose eyes ghostly glow like two large yellow spheres in the light cone of the torch at night. Unfortunately, night walks in national parks are currently forbidden, so that only the name testifies to this magnificent experience. Location: The Masola National Park …

Ranomafana: Ranomafana owes its name to its thermal springs, which constantly pump warm water (in Malagasy rano mafana) into the valley. Location: Ranomafana National Park is located between the two regions of Haute Matsiatra and Vatovavy-Fitovinany, about 420 kilometers south-east of the capital Antananarivo. For the journey via the RN7 from the capital, you need about one and a half …

Anja Community Reserve: The reserve is named after the Anja Miray Association, its nickname is “Anja Park”. Because of its rocky character, the reserve is also known as “Rocky Park”. Location: About 13 km south of Ambalavao is the Anja Community Reserve in the Haute-Matsiatra region. It can be easily reached by car via the RN7, it is only half …

Loky Manambato: This reserve is named after the two rivers that flow through it: Loky and Manambato. It is home to the last lemurs of its kind. In this remote part of Madagascar, you are rewarded with fantastic photo opportunities and unique experiences that may not be possible anymore in a few years. Location: Daraina, a small village directly within …

Marojejy: Marojejy National Park is one of the most biodiverse and beautiful in Madagascar, but also one of the most difficult to travel to. An “advanced paradise”! The Malagasy words maro and jejy have various meanings, including “many stones” and “much rain”, but also “many animals” and “many ancestral spirits”. Location: Marojejy National Park is located in the northeast of …

Andasibe: Formerly, this national park and the village Andasibe had the french name Périnet, which derived from French Henri Périnet, who built the train station nearby at the beginning of the 20th century. Today it is a complex of national parks wearing the Malagasy name Andasibe-Mantadia. The Malagasy name Andasibe means as much as “big camp”, which points to the …

Tsingy de Bemaraha: Mitsingytsingyna is the Malagasy term for “walking on tiptoe” and gives its name to the needle-pointed rocks that make up the National Park. Location: Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is located in western Madagascar in the Melaky region. It is about 250 km north of Morondava, from where taxis run to the National Park. However, an off-road …

Ankarana: Ankara is derived from the name of the population living there, the Antankarana. Antankarana means “the people from the rocks”, which refers to the Tsingys typical for the special reserve. Location: Ankarana is located on the RN6, just 110 km south of Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) and about 35 km north of Ambilobe, in northern Madagascar. The reserve is only …

Isalo: Isalo National Park is located in the southern highlands of Madagascar in a breathtaking mountain landscape of craggy rocks and dazzling mountains in all colours of the rainbow. Location: Isalo National Park is located on the RN7 in the south of Madagascar in the province of Ihorombe. It is about halfway between the coastal city of Toliara (Tuléar, about …

Lokobe: This national park is named after its highest elevation, the Lokobe at 450 m above sea level. The name means “many colours”. Location: The National Park is located on the island of Nosy Be on Madagascar’s northwest coast and belongs to the Diana region. To get there, you can take an all-terrain vehicle from Antananarivo to Ankify (about 900 …