Ankarafantsika National Park

Ankarafantsika—meaning ‘mountain of thorns’ in Malagasy—protects 136,000 hectares of dry deciduous forest in northwestern Madagascar, one of the island’s most threatened ecosystems. The park encompasses a remarkable mosaic of habitats: dense forests that lose their leaves in the long dry season, open savannas, sacred lakes, and the dramatic Ankarokaroka Canyon with its multicolored erosion formations. First protected in 1927, the area became a national park in 2003 and achieved UNESCO World Heritage status in 2023.

Known as ‘the Kingdom of Birds,’ Ankarafantsika harbors 129 bird species—75 of them found nowhere else on Earth. The star attraction is the critically endangered Madagascar fish eagle, the largest raptor in Madagascar and one of the world’s six rarest birds of prey. Fewer than 300 individuals survive, many of them around Lake Ravelobe where they can be observed hunting from towering perches. The park also shelters the rare Van Dam’s vanga, white-breasted mesite, and Schlegel’s asity—species that draw birders from around the world.