Things to do
5-
Avenue of the Baobabs
Grandidier's baobabs stand in a double file along a laterite track north of town, trunks rising bare for twenty metres before the branches start. Sunset is the set piece and the crowd gathers early, though the same road at first light is quieter and the light is just as good. These trees are remnants of forest cleared for rice, which is why they stand alone.
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Baobab Amoureux
Two trees of a different baobab species have grown twisted around each other a short drive on from the avenue, and local legend attaches a pair of thwarted lovers to them. Drivers usually fold the stop into a sunset circuit, and it takes only a few minutes. Standing away from the road, it gives a cleaner photograph than the crowded avenue.
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Betania
A Vezo fishing village sits across the estuary from town, reached by pirogue in a few minutes from the quay. Wooden outriggers land their catch on the sand in the morning, and the sandbanks beyond fill with birds at low tide. Visits are arranged informally at the waterfront, and going with a local boatman keeps the village comfortable with the arrangement.
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Park
Kirindy Forest
Dry deciduous forest an hour or so beyond the baobabs shelters the fossa, Madagascar's largest carnivore, along with the giant jumping rat found nowhere else. Night walks are the point here, when mouse lemurs and chameleons come out along the sandy trails. Accommodation is simple forest bungalows with limited power, and the reserve is usually visited as an overnight stop on the way to Bemaraha.
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Park
Tsingy de Bemaraha
Limestone eroded into forests of blades and needles makes up this UNESCO reserve inland from the coast, crossed on fixed cables, ladders and suspension bridges above the pinnacles. Reaching it means two days of rough track and river ferries, usually broken by a night at Kirindy or Belo sur Tsiribihina. The park closes through the rains, and the circuits demand a head for heights and a guide.