Andohahela National Park
Overview
Madagascar Parks
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many guidebooks to African destinations, including the Insight guide to Madagascar.
Andohahela National Park (Parc National d’Andohahela) has a remarkable range of habitats spread over three different sections. The most accessible section and the only one regularly visited is 5km²/2mi². This area was specifically set aside to protect the very rare triangle palm, of which only about 1,000 specimens are estimated to exist in the wild.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
Andohahela has 10 lemur species recorded including the charismatic ring-tailed lemur and the dancing Verreaux’s sifaka. Although active at night, the white-footed sportive lemur can sometimes be found resting in the fork of a tree in the daytime. Other animals to look out for include the lesser hedgehog tenrec and the radiated tortoise.
Scenery
The park consists of three disconnected areas with different scenery and vegetation. One section is located in rainforest habitat, one in the spiny forest and the most accessible is the beautiful transition forest on the Ambolo Mountains. The latter is the only place in Madagascar where the locally common triangle palm grows.
Weather & Climate
Andohahela consists of three different sections with different climates. The area most visited, between the spiny forest and rainforest, is the transition area, which is warm to hot with average rainfall. April to October is the Dry season and November to March sees the most rainfall. The Dry season months have average daytime temperatures of 23°C/73°F.
Best Time To Visit
Most people visit Andohahela to hike and enjoy the scenery of the transitional forest. The Dry season months from April to October offer the best hiking conditions. If you would like to increase the chances of seeing some wildlife, the shoulder months April, May, September and November are the best overall as from June to August, reptiles, amphibians and some nocturnal lemurs are less active and might be harder to spot.
