- Location: Eastern Madagascar
- Phone: +261 33 14 440 31
- Working hours: daily, from 6.00 to 16.00
Madagascar to most travelers seems to be a kind of continent in miniature. Modest size and at the same time a huge variety of exotic species of flora and fauna attract the attention of those who crave extreme, adventure and new experiences. Well, you can start acquaintance with the nature of Madagascar from the Andasibe National Park.
What a tropical reserve meets guests?
In search of the location of Andasibe on the map of Madagascar, pay attention to the north-eastern part of the island. Here is a small town with an entertaining name of Muramanga, in the vicinity of which there is a tropical reserve. The territory of the latter has about 155 square meters. km. In fact, the Andasibe reserve united two national parks - the Mantadia and the Analamazotra, and is named after the neighboring village.
At the very beginning of the tour through the territory visitors can enjoy the very unique nature of the rainforest. By the way, this rainy place was called not in vain, so it's better to prepare for this turn of events in advance. As for the temperature regime, in this part of the island the winters are cool. For a Russian tourist, it is unlikely that + 20 ° С is a strong hindrance, but clothes should be taken accordingly. It is best to visit Andasibe Park between October and May.
There is a tourist infrastructure in the reserve. Moreover - on weekends this area turns into a public park in the center of the city: a lot of people come here to spend the weekend closer to nature. In the homonymous village there are eco-lodges for those who want to devote a walk to the reserve for more than one day.
Flora and fauna
The main advantage of the park is the presence in it of a large number of unique species of plants and animals. Here you can see the pandanus tree, which local aborigines like to use as a material for building houses. Ravenala, ubiquitously growing on the territory of Andasibe, is known as a tree of travelers: in the axils of its leaves there is always water accumulated during the rainy season. Another favorite among the locals is the tambourissa. Its trunk does not rot and is also the main material for construction. In addition, the flora of the park is replete with various kinds of ferns, lianas and mosses. Here there are more than 100 species of orchids, the flowering period of which lasts from October to May.
As for the fauna, its main representatives are the lemur Indri and the Darwin spider. In general, the reserve has about 15 species of mammals and more than 100 species of birds. This variety is supplemented by the 80th and 50th species of amphibians and reptiles, respectively. Lemurs Indri, mentioned above, are the largest representatives of the family and can live only in the humid tropical forests of Madagascar. Individual individuals grow up to a meter in height and weighing up to 10 kg!
How to get to the Andasibe National Park?
To visit a tropical reserve, it is enough to drive a rented car or bus along the route Route nationale 2. It takes about 4 hours from Antananarivo and a distance of 160 km.