©Dennis van de Water/Shutterstock
Southern Madagascar is a wide-open adventure among some of nature’s most dramatic forms. The stark desert canyons of Parc National Isalo rival those of Arizona. The west coast offers gorgeous coastal settlements that serve as gateways to the fifth-largest coral reef in the world. And vast kilometres of spiny forest contain the strangest and most formidable plants on earth. The cape is also the last stop before Antarctica. There are two scruffy cities, Tuléar (Toliara) and Fort Dauphin (Taolagnaro), but that's not why you come. The question is how to tackle a region of this size. For many, a lodge in Isalo and a slice of beach are enough. But for others, the south is the perfect recipe for off-road exploration, when the security situation permits. After all, away from the RN7 it's strictly 4WD country, ripe for the adventure of a lifetime.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Southern Madagascar.
National Park
Isalo is one of Madagascar's most beautiful parks. It contains sculpted buttes, vertical rock walls and, best of all, deep canyon floors shot through with streams, lush vegetation and pools for swimming. All of this changes with the light, culminating in extraordinary sunsets beneath a big sky. Add all this to easy access off the RN7 and you understand why this is Madagascar’s most visited park.
National Park
This 760-sq-km park protects some of the last remnants of rainforest in southern Madagascar, as well as spiny forest and a remarkable 12 species of lemurs. It also boasts 129 recorded species of birds, and a variety of amphibians and reptiles, including crocodiles. In short, this is one of Madagascar's most diverse parks when it comes to both landscapes and wildlife. Questionable security in surrounding areas is our only explanation for why the park remains so little known.
Gardens
This is the one must-see attraction in Tuléar. Essentially a 400,000-sq-metre distillation of the entire spiny forest in one place, it's a fantastic collection of 900 plant species; take a guide (tip expected) to learn more about the weird and wonderful plants on show here. It was established by a Swiss botanist and conservationist in 1980; his ancient Citroen that once used to gather the plants is now being consumed by them. Madagascar National Parks (MNP) take note: clone this place. Night tours (Ar10,000) leave at 5.45pm.
Nature Reserve
This 0.67-sq-km forest reserve, 7km north of Fort Dauphin (Taolagnaro), deserves much greater recognition. Its exotic tropical setting, with mountains for a backdrop, is prettier than Berenty. Add to this a robust and varied lemur population, including ringtail, sifaka, brown, bamboo and mouse species (some with the habit of dropping from trees to say hello), more-humane crocodile pens, extraordinary bamboo groves, night walks and a cooling sea breeze, and you wonder why so many people are driving west.
Nature Reserve
This gorgeous park, about 9km from the Total station on the road to Ambovombe from Fort Dauphin (Taolagnaro), covers 136 hectares, and with a budding ecotourism project in play, it consists of a nursery set in a paradisiacal valley with several walking trails (from 30 minutes to two hours), including one to a pretty waterfall where you can take a dip.
Viewpoint
La Fenêtre de l’Isalo is a popular natural rock window that frames the setting sun, although we actually prefer it for the surrounding views of sweeping plains and weird-and-wonderful rock formations turned golden at sunset. At the time of writing, visitors were encouraged not to visit alone due to the threat of robbery – if there are other vehicles in attendance, take the 800m track off the RN7; the turn-off is around 1.5km south of La Relais de la Reine.
National Park
Parc National Zombitse-Vohibasia protects one of the last stands of dense dry forest in all of southern Madagascar, a bird-rich island of foliage in the heart of a denuded semi-desert landscape. The park's 36,300 hectares shelters an astounding 72 recorded bird species and eight lemur species.
Nature Reserve
Madagascar’s southernmost tip, Cap Sainte-Marie is a thought-provoking climax to the ‘eighth continent’, a stark and windswept place that, like so many places down here, feels like the end of the Earth. This 18-hectare reserve, partly created to protect radiated and spider tortoises, ends at the cliff's edge.
Nature Reserve
This well-known private reserve contains nearly one-third of the remaining tamarind gallery forest in Madagascar, nestled between the arms of a former oxbow lake on the Mandrare River. It was one of Madagascar’s first ecotourism destinations, its international reputation once drew nearly 8000 yearly visitors, helped by the friendly ring-tailed lemurs that greet you in the parking lot. Visitors can walk forest paths unguided in search of other lemurs. An excellent anthropological museum provides unique insights into local Antandroy culture.