Madagascar is a spectacular tour destination that makes up for the relatively small number of bird species with the high number of endemics. In addition, it is a special place to visit because it's the only place in the world to see lemurs. Our extended tour covers most important birding areas in Madagascar including the arid southwest, the rainforest of Ranomafana, the remote Bemanevika area where the Madagascar Pochard was rediscovered, the dry forest of Ankarafantsika, the wetlands around Mahajanga, and the Andasibe-Mantadia area. Nearly 200 species of birds and over 20 species of lemurs are likely to be seen on this tour.

The tour begins with arrival in the capital city of Antananarivo. The first part of our tour focuses on the southern section of Madagascar. The first full morning of the tour we'll fly to the southwest coastal city of Tulear. After visiting Arboretum d'Antsokay in Tulear, we'll drive a bit north near the coast to Ifaty, where we'll devote a full day to birding in the Ifaty spiny forest. We'll depart early the next morning for a transfer to Anakao, followed by an early afternoon boat trip to Nosy Ve to visit a Red-tailed Tropicbird breeding colony and a late afternoon transfer to Tsimanampetsotsa National Park. We'll spend much of the next day birding there before driving back to Anakao for an overnight stay. Next, we drive to Isalo National Park, stopping en route for birding at Zombitse National Park. We'll spend a full day birding at Isalo National Park before transferring to mountainous Ranomafana National Park. We'll devote two full days to birding at Ranomafana National Park, where we'll be faced with a bit of challenging birding while looking for the special endemics found there. From there we transfer back to Antananarivo. That afternoon we'll have time to do some birding around Tsarasotra Lake in town.

The second part of our tour will focus on more northern sites in Madagascar. We'll have a long drive north to Ambondromany followed by another full day driving to Antsohihy. From there we'll drive a rough road and 4x4 track to the remote village of Bealanana. At the end of the road we'll have a 2-hour hike to our destination at Bemanevika. There we'll spend 3 nights tent-camping while looking especially for Madagascar Pochard and Red Owl. After a full day of transferring back to Antohihy and an overnight stay there, we have a long drive to our lodge near Ankarafantsika National Park. We'll have two full days birding at Ankarafantsika National Park before we transfer to Mahajanga, where we'll have the afternoon to bird around Ampitolova Lake north of town. We'll spend most of the following day on a boat trip on the Betsiboka River and out into the estuary.

The next morning we'll begin the third part of our tour by flying back to Antananarivo. We then drive about 4 hours to reach the Andasibe area of central Madagascar. After our arrival there, we'll visit nearby VOIMMA community reserve to look for Indri lemurs. That evening we'll do some night birding in Mitsinjo Forest Reserve looking for several species of owls as well as some nocturnal lemurs. We have 3 full days to bird the Andasibe area. We'll devote the first day to birding Mantadia section of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. We'll devote the second day to birding nearby Maromizaha Reserve. On our third day we'll visit the more remote and more rugged Iaroka Forest Reserve to look for two rare vangas, which will involve a strenuous hike. The following morning, we'll bird the Analamazaotra section of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park before transferring back to Antananarivo after lunch. Early on the last morning of the tour we'll visit Tsarasotra Lake once again to look for rails we may have missed on our previous visit. The tour ends at the airport after lunch.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFO
(Not on Menu Above)

• Country Map
• Accommodations
• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES

• Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
• Ankarafantsika National Park
• Bemanevika
• Betsiboka Delta
• Iaroka Forest Reserve
• Ifaty Forest
• Ifaty Salt Pans
• Isalo National Park
• Lake Ampitolova
• Maromizaha Reserve
• Mitsinjo Reserve
• Nosy Ve Island
• Ranomafana National Park
• Tsimanampetsotsa National Par
• Tulear Mud Flats
• Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park