Top 5 reasons to visit Madagascar

Located off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar is the world’s fourth-largest island. It’s often described as one of the last great wild frontiers for its isolation, endemic wildlife and undeveloped landscapes. If you’re craving an intrepid adventure paired with lavish private island retreats, Madagascar has it all. 

Spend your holiday spotting lemurs and colourful chameleons in thick rainforests, exploring the otherworldly rock formations of Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, and photographing the Allée des Baobabs at sunset. Round off the trip of a lifetime in barefoot-chic luxury villas framed by pristine white sand beaches. Take a look at our top five reasons to visit Madagascar.

Why you should visit Madagascar

1. Explore one of the last frontiers 

Madagascar is one of the last true wild frontiers, and you feel like you’re among the first to visit. The perfect place to become an intrepid explorer, you can immerse yourself in the raw nature of the island. You’ll see everything from thick rainforests and huge waterfalls to secluded beaches and jagged mountains. 

Canoe down remote rivers and climb over unique rock formations, trek through rainforests and spot rare wildlife, all with an expert guide. Luxury lodges are more sparse than other places, but the ones you can find tend to be secluded villas that blend in with the surrounding nature reserve. With the likes of swimming pools, candlelit dinners and spa treatments, they reward you with refined relaxation in the untamed Madagascan wilderness.

2. Barefoot luxury in private island villas 

Scattered along Madagascar’s northern coast lies the Nosy Be archipelago, home to idyllic tropical islands. Stay in private island villas and spend your days in blissful barefoot luxury. Languish on palm-fringed white sand beaches, go snorkelling in the warm Indian Ocean or explore nearby uninhabited islands in a yacht. 

At Miavana by Time + Tide, you can see the islands from above in a helicopter and dine on the beach under the stars. With just 14 villas complete with private plunge pools, it’s an exclusive escape to unplug with your loved ones. 

If you’re looking for islands inhabited by local communities, Île Sainte-Marie has one quiet little town with cafes, a market and a Catholic church. Time your visit for June to September to see migrating humpback whales offshore. 

3. Trek through the Jurassic wildernesses 

Madagascar has its fair share of surreal Jurassic landscapes. Among them is the UNESCO-listed Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park in the northwest of the island. It’s a limestone massif shaped into razor-sharp karst pinnacles and surrounded by thick forest. 

The geological formation is divided into the Great Tsingy and the Little Tsingy. You can explore them on a circuit of your choosing with an expert guide. Highlights include suspension bridges and via ferratas. Bring sturdy footwear, as ‘Tsingy’ translates to ‘where one cannot walk barefoot’ in Malagasy. 

Swap rock needles for the cinematic landscape of Isalo National Park. Famous for its sandstone cliffs rising from grassy plains, it looks a little like the USA’s Wild West. Trek through its vast plateaus and tree-covered canyons with a guide, stopping to cool off in a natural pool. Deep in the shaded gorges is where you’ll find brown, ring-tailed and sifaka lemurs. 

4. See rare endemic wildlife 

Madagascar has wildlife you won’t see anywhere else. Around 90% of its species are endemic, including lemurs, its most famous residents. There are about 112 lemur species on the island, with new species discovered frequently. 

Among them is the ring-tailed lemur with its distinct black and white-striped tail. The indri is the largest living lemur, and the mouse lemur is the smallest. Some of Madagascar’s best national parks for lemurs are Andasibe-Mantadia, Ranomafana, Isalo, Tsingy de Bemaraha and Masoala. 

Keep an eye out for the cat-like fossa, the orange-eyed aye-aye and around 100 species of chameleon. It’s also a hotspot for unique birds, including the Helmet vanga and jazzy-looking Scaly Ground-roller. 

5. Snap pictures of the Allée des Baobabs

A photographer’s dream, Madagascar is incredibly photogenic with jaw-dropping scenery to fill up your camera roll. One of its iconic landmarks, Allée des Baobabs (Avenue of the Baobabs), should be on your bucket list. 

It’s a stretch of dirt road lined with around 20 towering Grandidier’s baobabs near the coastal city of Morondava. The species is endemic to Madagascar, and some of these trees are thought to be up to 1,000 years old. 

Time your visit for sunrise or sunset, when these majestic trees are drenched in light or silhouetted against the colourful sky. Why not return at night to photograph the Milky Way blazing above them? It’s a picture-perfect moment you’ll never forget.