Queen Elizabeth National Park

Despite attractions like the mountain gorillas or Rwenzori mountains, Uganda’s most famous National Park is still Queen Elizabeth National Park, the oldest park in the country and with 1.978 km2 also the second largest. The region where the Rift Valley crosses the equator is under protection since the 20s of the last century, and the […]

Virunga I – The mountain gorillas – Die Berggorillas

The Virunga volcanoes include eight volcanoes in total, situated at the border triangle of Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo. Extended areas around the volcanoes are protected in order to preserve half of the population of the famous mountain gorillas living in the montane forests. The most active of the volcanoes are Nyiragongo (3.462 m) and […]

La Montagne des français

Between Antsiranana and the Indian ocean lies the “mountain of the French”, a 340-meter-high rock massif officially protected as a reserve since 2013. Even though it is not a big mountain range and despite its proximity to the city, the reserve is home to five species of lemur, 50 bird species, 40 species of reptile, […]

Joffreville & Montagne d´Ambre

Joffreville (Ambohitra) in the Montagne d´Ambre had been built by the French colonial rulers for strategic as well as climatic reasons. Today, the small town offers not much more than picturesquely decaying colonial architecture and the opportunity to go hiking in the nearby Montagne d´Ambre National Park. Around 5.000 people are living in Joffreville today, […]

Ankarana

The Tsingy limestone formations cover areas along Madagascars west coast, from the Tsingy de Bemaraha north of Morondava and the Tsingy de Namoroka south of Mahajanga all the way up to the Ankarana massif south of Antsiranana (Diego-Suarez), where the Tsingy finally meet the ocean. 182 square kilometres of the Ankarana massif are protected as […]

Ranomafana

Along Madagascar´s eastcoast are the remainders of rainforests that used to cover the whole east flank of the island´s central highlands. The humid clouds coming from the Indian Ocean supply the steep slopes with huge amounts of rain along with devastating Cyclones, which are regularily making a havoc of parts of the island in the […]

Andasibe

Because of its proximity to Tana and the good accessibility near the Route National to Toamasina (Tamatave), Andasibe National Park is the most visited in Madagascar. It is home to the famous Indris, the Eastern lesser bamboo lemur and other lemurs like the diadem sifakas that got translocated from nearby Mantadia National Park as well […]

Mitsinjo

The forest of Mitsinjo is part of the Andasibe area a 4 to 5-hours-drive east of Tana. Besides the eponymous Andasibe National Park and Mitsinjo forest, there are several other protected areas such as VOIMMA, a small community-based park, Mantadia National Park, Torotorofotsy Reserve, Maromizahe Reserve and Vohimana Reserve, all trying to protect chunks of […]

The stars above Lac Itasy – Die Sterne über dem Itasy-See

If you are heading west from Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, the landscape becomes even more barren than it is around Tana. The Route National 1 is going up as far as 1.700m in altitude, and about 130km west of Tana, you are reaching the rough but beautiful volcanic area around Lake Itasy at approximately 1.300m. The […]