Andohahela National Park
 |
Although
Andohahela has been protected since 1939, it was not declared National
Park and
opened to tourism until 1998. It is located about 40 km northwest from |
The excellent Park management, which combines nature protection with the sustainable development of the local communities, has been recognised with several prestigious awards. In this manner, a part of the fee entrance goes directly to support farming, agricultural and apicultural projects managed by the Antandroy and Antanosy populations.
 Verreaux's Sifakas roam in small
groups through the spiny
forest looking for food © Gail Johnson |
The
extraordinary variety of habitats of this stunning national park is
mirrored in
the richness of species that are home here. 13 species of lemurs are
found
inside the Park, including the diurnal species Verreaux's Sifaka,
ring-tailed
lemur, collared brown lemur or Southern Lesser bamboo lemur.
Flora is as
rich as fauna: more than thousand of plant species grow here. Some
representative plants are the local endemic trihedral palm, the
traveller tree
(ravinala), the octopus tree and the dwarf baobab.
The
National Park is divided into three zones:
Malio
(Parcel 1): This area is covered by rainforest and it is the less
visited zone.
Here you will find luxuriant vegetation: more than 200 species of fern
trees,
some precious wood trees, wild vanilla plants, orchids, lemurs and a
lot birds.
It can only be visited during the dry season.
Ihazofotsy-Mangatsiaka
(Parcel 2): This dry spiny forest is the home of sifakas, ring-tailed
lemurs,
reptiles and rare birds, as well as endemic and strange Didieraceae
plants.
Tsimelahy
(Parcel 3): This terrific transition forest with wonderful landscapes
gives
shelter to many reptiles, small mammals and it is the only place in the
world
where the trihedral palm grows.
| There are several circuits
who allow you to contrast and compare the different species found in
the park. The easiest ones are the Tsimelahy (2 hours walk in the transition forest passing through natural pools and nice sceneries) and the Mangatsiaka (3 hours trail discovering the strange semi-arid spiny forest). The Ihazofotsy circuit consists of three different stages through dry and bushy forest looking for lemurs and birds and takes one whole day. The trails in the rainforest zone are a little bit harder. You can choose between a 3 to 5 hours walk (Manangotry and Malio circuits) or the toughest one: a two-days-trek between the villages of Malio and Talakifeno walking from the western dry forest to the eastern humid rainforest and getting a complete overview over the park biodiversity. |
 Typical spiny forest vegetation © Madagascar Travel Guide |
To get to the park from
Of
course, the best way to move around is as usual a 4x4!
The
park fees are Ar 10,000 for one day and Ar 15,000 for two days.
The best time to visit this
area is between April and October. Climate can be quite different from
one
parcel to another. In the eastern side and in the Anosy range it is
humid and
hot, by contrast the western part is much dryer and it only rains a
little bit
from December to March. Temperatures are warm (20 to 27°)
during all the year.
There are
several campsites next to the park located where the trails ends. You
can hire
the equipment at the park office. The camping place near the
In the
villages nearby are some simple accommodations and some better ones are
currently being built.
The ANGAP office is at Ampasikabo. Here you can
arrange your whole trip to the
Park. Besides, there are local offices in the villages of Tsimelahy and
Mangatsiaka.
There are more than 20 guides working in the park, some of them speak
good
English.
BP 73, Ampasikabo - 614 Tolagnaro (près Bureau CIREEF)
Tél : + (261 22) 92 904 85 / 032 04 898 96 / 034 01 858 03
Email : angapfd@yahoo.fr ahl.parks@gmail.com
