Join award-winning photographer Nick Garbutt to track, watch and photograph the extraordinary wildlife and habitats of Madagascar – a country like no other.
As well as tracking the island’s most famous inhabitants - the charming and diverse lemurs - you will encounter an array of wildlife, all accessible and easy to see on day and night walks through spectacular forests. There are countless opportunities to see and photograph species such as the endangered golden-crowned sifaka, the iconic fosa, beautiful diademed sifaka, secretive helmet vanga, and - if lucky - the elusive aye-aye.
Diverse habitats and fascinating cultures will add to the fabulous photographic opportunities, and once you’ve explored the atmospheric and varied landscapes you can relax at unique and charming accommodation. Daily sessions with Nick will enable you to pose questions you've always wanted to ask in situ and hone your photography talents.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Fly to Antananarivo
Fly from London to Antananarivo, arriving in the evening, and transfer to our hotel located in a wooded park, conveniently close to the airport.
Accommodation: Le Relais des Plateaux, 1-night
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Day 2:
Fly to Sambava
We transfer back to the airport for a domestic flight to Sambava in the northeast corner of the country. On arrival into Sambava, we transfer to our accommodation in the town.
Accommodation: Hotel Las Palmas, 1-night
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Day 3:
Drive to Manantenina; walk into Marojejy National Park
We drive for an hour to Manantenina, before beginning our walk into Marojejy National Park. It takes around two hours to reach the edge of the park and a further two hours to reach Camp Mantella, which is located in a bamboo grove close to a river surrounded by forest.
Accommodation: Camp Mantella, 1-night
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Days 4-5
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Marojejy National Park
We continue to walk further into the heart of the park, climbing for around an hour to reach Camp Marojejia, which is situated on a rocky outcrop looking across a valley to a huge rock buttress, amidst stunning primary rainforest. It is one of the most breathtaking locations imaginable for a camp.
Accommodation: Camp Marojejia, 2-nights
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Day 6:
Return to Sambava & drive to Vohemar
We spend the morning walking out of Marojejy, returning to Manantenina for lunch, before driving to Sambava and then continuing north by road to Vohemar.
Accommodation: Hotel Baie d’Iharana, 1-night
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Days 7-8
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Daraina
We take an early morning drive to Daraina where we meet local guides for a walk to forests near Andranotsimaty to see golden-crowned sifaka, which we aim to do on both days during our stay here. There will also be nocturnal visits to the forests on both nights to look for aye-aye. Our accommodation is right next to the forest so we are in the perfect position to see and photograph the wildlife.
Accommodation: Camp Tattersali, 2-nights
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Day 9:
Drive back to Sambava
Today we enjoy another early morning visit to the Andranotsimaty forests close to Daraina before driving back to the coastal town of Vohemar and onto Sambava.
Accommodation: Hotel Las Palmas, 1-night
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Day 10:
Fly to Antananarivo
From Sambava we will transfer to the airport for a flight to Antananarivo where we transfer to the same hotel as our first night on the island.
Accommodation: Le Relais des Plateaux, 1-night
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Day 11:
Fly to Morondava
In the morning, we return to the airport for another domestic flight. This time we fly to the town of Morondava on the island’s west coast. On arrival, we travel north from Morondava to the Kirindy Forest – arguably the best location in Madagascar to see its apex predator, the fosa.
Accommodation: Camp Amoureux, 3-nights
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Days 12-13
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Kirindy Forest
For the next two days we explore the Kirindy Forest area in search of its excellent wildlife and photographic opportunities. The fosa will be one of our main goals here, but there is also a very good range of lemur species to see and photograph too such as red-fronted brown lemur and Verreaux sifaka. This area is also excellent for nocturnal species; there are seven different lemurs active after dark, including red-tailed sportive lemur, fork-marked lemur, grey mouse lemur and Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur.
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Day 14:
Return to Morondava
After a final morning in the Kirindy Forest we return to Morondava.
Accommodation: Hotel Palissandre Côte Ouest, 1-night
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Day 15:
Fly to Antananarivo
Transfer to airport in Morondava and fly to Tana, and return to the same hotel in Madagascar’s capital.
Accommodation: Le Relais des Plateaux, 1-night
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Day 16:
Drive to Andasibe
Today we will drive eastward to Andasibe and check into our hotel, located very close to the national park.
Accommodation: Andasibe Hotel, 4-nights
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Days 17-19
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Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
We have three full days to explore this wonderful rainforest area. On our first day, the priority will be to visit Andasibe and search for the fabulous indri. There’s a good chance we’ll hear their eerie wailing calls too. We may also see brown lemurs and grey bamboo lemurs, streaked tenrecs and striking birds like blue vanga.
Another focus will be to look for stunning diademed sifaka - perhaps the most beautiful of all lemurs - as well as red-bellied lemurs and secretive birds such as pitta-like and scaly ground roller.
There will also be nocturnal walks where different lemurs and chameleons can be seen. The huge variety of frogs are also a feature of this reserve and are particularly evident after rain.
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Day 20:
Return to Antananarivo & depart
In the afternoon, we transfer back to Antananarivo, where we can visit the handicraft market of La Digue. A day room will be provided until a late evening transfer to the airport for our overnight flight back to the UK..
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Day 21:
Arrive UK
Please note: This itinerary is based on Air Madagascar’s current domestic schedules. Air Madagascar reserves the right to change these without notice, hence there is no guaranteed that this will be the exact itinerary we will follow. Changes may be forced upon us right until the last moment, but every effort will be make to keep the final itinerary as faithful as possible to this one proposed.
