Early in the morning, we drove to the park office to buy our tickets to visit Analamazaotra Special Reserve (🎟️45,000 MGA, guide 50,000 MGA, city tax 5,000 MGA), a highly accessible, 874-hectare rainforest in eastern Madagascar, located 140 km from Antananarivo. Part of the larger Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, this reserve offers the chance to encounter the iconic Indri, known for its haunting, whale-like calls that echo through the forest. Watching these black-and-white lemurs leap gracefully between trees is an unforgettable experience. In addition to indris, the reserve is home to several other lemur species, colourful chameleons, and a dazzling variety of birds and orchids.
There are several well-maintained trails; we chose a 2-hour guided walk, which, anyway, ended up taking like 3.5 hours to track lemurs through the rainforest. Early mornings are especially magical, as the forest comes alive with sounds and movement.
