Location Overview
MADAGASCAR'S GRAND CANYON
A dramatic sandstone landscape of deep canyons, natural swimming pools, and unique rock formations reminiscent of the American Southwest. This rugged terrain showcases Madagascar's geological diversity with red and yellow cliffs, hidden oases, and endemic succulent plants including the iconic pachypodium trees. The park offers excellent hiking through diverse ecosystems from grasslands to gallery forests, with opportunities to spot ring-tailed lemurs and rare birds.
1 / 3
From the Journal
Field notes, cultural encounters and trail dispatches from our guides and travellers in Isalo National Park.
Madagascar’s great hiking park: deep sandstone canyons, palm-fringed natural pools, ring-tailed lemurs, and the cliff tombs of the Bara people. Here is when to go, how many days you need, the best hikes, what it costs, and how to do it well.
Locations
Andasibe-Mantadia, Madagascar
In the mist-shrouded rainforests of eastern Madagascar, a haunting melody echoes through ancient trees each morning: the song of the indri, the world's largest lemur. This is Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, where 155 square kilometers…
Ankarafantsika, Madagascar
In northwestern Madagascar lies a realm where the extraordinary is ordinary, where lemurs dance across the forest floor on two legs, sacred crocodiles guard ancient legends, and one of the world's rarest eagles hunts…
Madagascar
Madagascar's vibrant capital built on twelve hills, blending Malagasy tradition with French colonial architecture and modern African city life. Explore the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a UNESCO site and sacred burial place of Malagasy…
Madagascar
Madagascar's most photographed location, featuring ancient baobab trees up to 800 years old lining a dusty road near Morondava. These majestic Adansonia grandidieri trees, some reaching 30 meters in height, create a mystical silhouette…
Madagascar
A unique ecosystem where the otherworldly spiny forests of southern Madagascar meet pristine coral reefs of the Mozambique Channel. This semi-arid landscape features bizarre endemic plants like the octopus tree and giant baobabs, while…
Masoala National Park, Madagascar
On Madagascar's remote northeastern coast lies Masoala, the island's largest national park and one of Earth's most biodiverse places. Here, primary rainforest tumbles directly into the Indian Ocean, creating a landscape found nowhere else…
Nosy Be, Madagascar
Rising from the turquoise waters of the Mozambique Channel lies Nosy Be, Madagascar's island jewel and gateway to one of earth's most extraordinary marine frontiers. Known as the Perfumed Island for its intoxicating ylang-ylang…
Madagascar
A UNESCO World Heritage site featuring razor-sharp limestone pinnacles called "tsingy" creating an otherworldly landscape of stone forests, deep canyons, and underground rivers. This geological masterpiece, carved by water over millions of years, harbors…
