Isalo National Park

The Isalo National Park is a protected area of ​​Madagascar, gazetted as national park in 1991. It is a massive mountain of Jurassic sandstone. With an area of ​​81,540 ha, the park covers nearly one hundred kilometres in a north-south direction. The erosion of the rock has carved dramatic landscapes worthy of western movies, varying from 514 to 1,268m of altitude with deep canyons, spiky peaks, rivers, and abundant rock adapted plants.

Desert landscapes, savannahs, dry tropical forests interspersed with waterfalls and natural pools offer fantastic and colorful panoramas. The climate is dry tropical.

Walks with a guide allows visitors to discover the fauna and flora of a part of this immense park, which is also a sacred place for the Malagasy.

The fauna mainly consists of endemic species such as 77 species of birds (including the Benson Rockbird, which is highly protected and only found in Isalo), 14 species of diurnal and nocturnal lemurs (including Verreaux’s sifakas, Ring-tailed lemurs, mouse lemurs, Red-tailed sportive lemur, red lemurs), 39 species of reptiles including chameleon carpet and 15 species of amphibians (including the mantella expectata with its blue legs and yellow back, and the Malagasy rainbow frog).

The wildlife, also predominantly endemic to the region, comprises over 400 species including Elephant’s feet, Isalo’s Palm (which resists fire) and many species of medicinal plants.