Things to do
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Amber Mountain National Park
Rainforest on a volcanic massif south of the city stays cool and damp when the surrounding plains are parched, and the contrast is the appeal. Trails link waterfalls, a crater lake and the sacred falls, with crowned lemurs overhead and dwarf chameleons the size of a thumbnail on the leaf litter. Rain falls here year round, so boots and a jacket earn their place.
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Ankarana Reserve
Another field of limestone tsingy rises from dry forest on the road south, undercut by caves and underground rivers where bats roost and crocodiles live in the dark. Suspension bridges and walkways cross the pinnacles, and crowned lemurs work the campsite edges. Trails range from short circuits to two day walks, and water has to be carried in on the longer routes.
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Other
Emerald Sea
Shallow water over white sand makes a lagoon of astonishing green off the eastern side of the bay, sheltered by a reef and reached by sailing boat from Ramena. Operators run day trips with grilled fish on a sandbank at low tide. The crossing is exposed and the trade wind can make it wet and rough, so the calmer months are worth choosing.
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Nosy Be
Madagascar's main beach island lies off the northwest coast, where ylang ylang plantations scent the air and the western shore faces a line of sunsets from the crater lakes at Mont Passot. Lokobe Reserve on the southeast side protects a last patch of lowland rainforest with black lemurs. Access runs by flight or by ferry from Ankify, and the season turns wet from January to March.
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Tsingy Rouge
Erosion has cut a gorge of red laterite into spires and organ pipes an hour or two south of the city, a formation that shifts shape from one rainy season to the next. The approach needs a high clearance vehicle on sandy tracks, and the site is usually paired with Amber Mountain or the Ankarana road. Colour is strongest in low morning light.