An exciting tour of the world’s fourth largest island, home to unique wildlife and facing major conservation problems.

Madagascar is up there as one of the ‘must visit’ wildlife destinations. Separated from mainland Africa by the 400km of the Mozambique Channel, Madagascar split off from Africa some 160 million years ago to leave the fourth largest island in the world.

Its millions of years of isolation has left Madagascar as home to a unique collection of wildlife, of which more than 80% is found nowhere else on the planet. These include giant baobab trees, most of the world’s chameleons, more than 100 endemic birds, including no less than five endemic families (ground-rollers, asities, mesites, vangas and Malagasy warblers) and, most famously of all, the endearing lemurs, from the chimpanzee-sized indri to the smallest primate in the world, the tiny mouse lemur, weighing in at just 30 g. Indeed, with 87 species of extant lemur, this is one of the most primate-diverse countries on the planet.

This fourteen-day trip will take in the low altitude rainforest of Andasibe, the mid-altitude rainforest of Ranomafana, the dry forests of the south and the bizarre spiny forests around Ifaty. At each step of the way, a whole new suite of endemic species can be found.

 
Our visit also has a major ecotourism focus. After the recent political troubles, the country’s economy needs the support of tourism more than ever if the island’s unique habitats are to survive. We will also be making a contribution to the work of Madagasikara Voakajy, a small NGO carrying out vital research and conservation work in some of the hardest-to-reach parts of the island.
  

£3990, Single Room Supplement £400

Leaders: Philip Precey & local guides