The Tsing Limestone adventure

The Lost World within a Lost World is an incredible place with its limestone pinnacle-fields ('tsingy'), caves and wildlife-rich sunken forests.

Southwest of Diégo Suarez on the northern tip of Madagascar, Ankarana Special Reserve covers 18,220ha, with the highlight being a fortress-like limestone plateau that is quite unlike anything you’ll have ever seen before. While the eastern sector (Ankarana Est) is accessible year-round on a tailor made Ankarana Holiday, the western sector (Ankarana Ouest) where seeing the grand tsingy formations is easier, can only be visited between May to early November.

Ankarana Ouest allows for access to the more impressive caves (such as the spectacular Grotte d’Andrafiabe) and to the strange, green Lac Vert. Sunken moist deciduous forests thrive where certain caves have collapsed, whilst subterranean rivers and streams are inhabited by Nile crocodiles, blind cave fish, eels and shrimps. Conspiracies of crowned lemurs (how’s that for a collective noun!) and northern ring-tailed vontsira are usually seen by day. After dusk, common tenrecs, striped civets, fossa, noisy Ankarana sportive lemurs, northern mouse lemurs and some 13 species of bat become active.

Much of Ankarana is rugged so sturdy hiking boots are a necessity. Boardwalks have recently been constructed in some places to protect the brittle limestone 'tsingy' formations. We recommend a two or three night visit to the area on a luxury Ankarana tour, and a full day explore to the park in order to get the most out of this extraordinary place.