canyons along wildly eroded cragged plateaus,
all dating to the Jurassic era. Steep ridges are
riddled with jagged edges and sudden drops.
Hiking the massif uncovers dramatic warped
rock formations and surprising wildlife amidst
the barren desert wonderland. The dry heat
is tough and 2 liters of drinking water in my
backpack soon disappear. Climbing to the
peak of a ridge offers panoramic vistas and a
gentle breeze, overlooking the desert-scape
akin to Petra in Jordan or Arizona’s Grand
Canyon. Descending deeper into the gorges,
my guide points out giant aloe plants, thriving
with their deep green leaves and orange tips,
and elephant’s foot plants ‘Pakipod’ cradled in
rock-face, hiding from the heat. He digs a stick
in the sand, unearthing a scorpion, discovers
the shimmering pink j ewel chameleon and
finds a giant male stick insect, indistinguishable from the wiry plant it inhabits. Lowering
into gorges, I’m delighted to see a tumbling
waterfall and natural tropical pools, which
make for a refreshingly cool dip. As we hike
further, the scenery evolves to lush greenery
clinging to slanting slopes; home to the
ring-tailed lemur, Verreaux’s sifaka and brown
lemurs. As we hit deciduous rocky boulders at
a higher level, we spot the ring-tails. They’re
scaling a sheer rock face, striking against
the granitic boulders with their long bushy
black-and-white striped tail outsizing their
body. Remaining in the same position for a
while, they allow us a closer look. Their devilred eyeballs hold my gaze as I observe. The
ring-tailed lemurs are found relatively low
to ground in comparison to white Verreaux’s
sifaka, which we spot higher up on tree
branches. Getting close makes them twitchy
and they bolt.
Tucked away up a steep embankment, my
guide shows me a colorful tomb. Isalo is a
sacred spot for the Bara tribe, who mark these
burial sites with mounds of stones. They hide
tombs in crevices on treacherously high ledges,
sometimes losing their own life in the process.
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By sunset, the famous Window of Isalo is an
idyllic spot to watch the sun sink through a
natural rock formation, surrounded by captivating desert. Take a bottle of wine and sip it
amidst the surrounding oasis of silence, as the
landscape transcends spring shades of marshmallow pink.
Critically endangered
Sportive lemurs are critically endangered and
rare sightings. Zombitse National Park is on the
road East. The primary forest is home to several
of the 24 species of sportive lemur. Tracking
them, I have two local guides. Within the first
hour, we trace the Habbard Sportive lemur
burrowed into the fork of a tree. Insanely loveable and cross-eyed, the Habbard struggles to
focus its eyes, scrambling them vaguely in our
direction. As they’re nocturnal, daytime vision
is poor. Bulging marigold pupils give them a
clumsy and innocent look. They are undeniably
the cutest lemurs and I can’t help but giggle
watching them. Later, we find the Zombitse
sportive lemur nuzzled in a similar position.
The name is utterly uncharacteristic as it is
not sportive at all, rather entirely sedentary.
Though the Bamboo lemurs in Andasibe are
classically beautiful, the sportive lemurs are
comical and endearing, and to see them feels
an honour.
Bounty of beaches:
the Indian Ocean
End any trip to Madagascar on one of the
sumptuously wild and exotic beaches for
a few days. In the east of the island, many
stop at Toliara’s Ifaty beach. With 5000km of
coastline, 450km of barrier reef & 250 islands,
you’re spoiled for choice. I opt to fly far North
to Nosy Be, where an onward hour and half’s
speedboat journey through the sea leaves me
marooned on a private island in the midst of
the Indian Ocean.
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