Safari to Andasibe

home of indris, the largest of the lemurs

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is one of a string of conservation areas that protect the ribbon of indigenous rainforest that runs along the spine of Madagascar.

The name Andasibe is pronounced ‘an-dassy-bay’.

Set 100 km east of the capital Tana, this is a very small but particularly iconic and well-visited national park.

The village was historically a small spa resort in the tropical forests alongside the colonial railway from the coast. These days it’s one of the most popular locations for viewing lemurs.

The area is home to indris, the largest lemur species, as well as eleven other species of primate and a whole range of diverse and unique wildlife.

Andasibe is a very popular location, which tends to feature in a high proportion of trips to Madagascar. Whilst this is understandable, it does mean that there can be a real squeeze on accommodation during the main seasons.

Since the Andasibe area can be relatively easily accessed by road from the capital, Antananarivo, it tends to feature in a high proportion of trips.

The usual stay duration is 2-4 nights.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Andasibe is generally considered to be during the Apr-Sep dry season.

During this period the rainfall is surprisingly low for a rainforest area, typically only 25-50mm/1-2″ per month. Peak daytime temperatures are also comfortable, around 24C/75F.

During the converse Oct-Mar rainy season precipitation typically peaks in January at around 150mm/6″, which basically means it’s raining a lot, although punctuated with lots of sunshine too. Perhaps even more importantly, peak daytime temperatures rise to around 29C/84F, accompanied by very high humidities, which can become quite uncomfortable.

Getting there

By far the most common way to visit Andasibe is by road from the capital Tana, a journey of 140km that takes 3-4 hours, typically staying for 2-3 nights.

Most of our guests who choose to include Andasibe tend to do so at the front end of their trip, subsequently returning to the capital to catch a flight to a more remote part of the country.

It’s also possible to continue east by road, dropping down to the coast to explore some modestly interesting areas down there.

Or you can return back towards Tana and then turn south on the infamous RN7 route all the way down to the southwest corner of the country.

However neither of these overland routings are particularly recommended, they are the busiest and most touristy routes in the country.

Where to stay

Accommodation in this area has always been something of a problem, with the only options being a handful of very simple guest-houses and tired old colonial hotels.

These days there’s a couple of reasonably new options, Vakona Forest Lodge and Mantadia Lodge, both of which can serve as functional and even pleasant bases from which to explore.

But be sure to book early, there are serious availability issues around here …

usually reached by road from the capital