Zombitse and Vohibasia National Park
 |
Zombitse-Vohibasia National
Park was established in 1997 and
covers 363 km² of dry forest, marshes, and
savannas. It is located on the southwest of Madagascar
about 90km west of Isalo
NP and 20km northeast of Sakaraha. The Park is divided into three
different
sections: Zombitse (168 km²), Vohibasia (161 km²) and
Vohimena Isoky (32 km²). This
National Park can personify the biggest environmental problem of Madagascar:
deforestation. Hundreds of year of slash-and-burn agriculture and tree
falling
have turned the landscape into an arid and almost lifeless plateau. The
local
Bara and Mahafaly populations are zebu holders who need more and more
space to
feed their herds and grow rice and corn. Only a patch of protected
forest
remains nowadays in the middle of this devastation, giving shelter to
an abundant
fauna and flora biodiversity. |
These isolated forests
constitute the most
important remnant of dry deciduous forest of Madagascar.
Zombitse-Vohibasia
acts as a transition zone between the dry and the humid forests of Madagascar.
Therefore
the flora is especially rich within the protected area. Baobabs and
several
orchids are particulary common.
Verreaux´s
sifaka caught by jumping © Gail Johnson |
The number of animal species living here is
also remarkable. 15 small mammals, 2 carnivorous and 8 lemur species,
such as the
Verraux´s sifaka, red-fronted brown lemur, ring-tailed lemur,
pale fork-marked
lemur and the Hubbard´s sportive lemur can be observed here.
Birds are also a
park highlight. There are 85 species, most of them endemic like the
rare
Appert´s greenbul, which only lives in this forest. 33
reptile and 8 amphibian
species have been reported in Zombitse, such as the
Standing´s day gecko, which
is also local endemic to the Park.
Four
different short and pretty easy circuits (from
one to five hours walk) are offered by the park authorities in order to
allow
visitors to discover the richness and diversity of this last natural
refuge.
Fees are 3,000 up to 6 people per circuit.
Zombitse-Vohibasia is easily accessible all the
year round. It lies just on the best road of Madagascar,
the RN 7, approximately
350 km from Fianarantsoa and 150 from Tulear.
If you are travelling by taxi-brousse just ask the driver to drop you
at the
park entrance or at Sakaraha, where the Park Office is. |
Ring-tailed lemur with its baby
© Gail Johnson |
There are two recently built
camping sites inside the Park (3,000 Ar per
night), but most visitors still prefer to stay at a hotel at the nearby
village
of Sakaraha.
The Park
Office is located in Sakaraha, about 20 km from the Park itself. A
couple of
park-guides speak some English.
