Andasibe National Park

Arrival at Andasibe National Park

We have now reached the final chapter of our adventure, and today we've planned a hectic last push. Meeting at 7:30 after a forgettable breakfast, followed immediately by an appointment with the guide to finalize the itinerary. We intend to see both... Mantadia National Park that is Analamazoatra Even though the time available is limited. The weather is beautiful, so we try to make the most of it. An hour and a half for 25 km of road in a 4x4 takes us to the entrance of the first park, Mantadia Park, where visitors are rare and we escape the typical tourist crowds. We arrive first Andasibe with a beautiful, but now abandoned, train station, and continuing north on a road that was initially lovely thanks to a luxury resort nearby, then perfectly in line with what I had seen so far.
This is a true primary forest, with dense and tall trees whose tops are impossible to see. You can find everything from palisander wood to various forms of palm trees that I have never seen before. Small paths wind up and down the hills. We saw lemurs, including... white variety and the Diademed Sifaka With a fluffy puppy clinging to its mother's fur, and with the classic orange and grey colors. But we are missing the real owner of the house, the indri, whose cries echo in the silence of the forest. They seem close, but they come from a distance of at least 2 km. They are piercing, like wails or moans, that even frighten you at first, almost coming from nowhere. We climb fruitlessly into the forest along the slopes, now outside the paths, to look for a meeting, making our way through the dense undergrowth. In the parks of Andasibe, we don't see holes in the ground where snakes hibernate. They are found on the bark of the trees.

We return after three hours of walking and contact with the primary forest, crossing streams that occasionally break the monotony of the intense green. Another hour and a half on the bumpy road where we encounter rare passers-by returning from the Andasibe market to their villages, also covering 20 km on foot with purchases in tow.

At Analamanzotra, we head directly to the search for indri, but again without success. The guide continues to walk faster along the narrow paths, imitating the call. When we are about to start returning, there is a real surprise: the guide looks up at the sky one last time, almost as if pleading with it, and there, between us and the starry sky, hanging from a thin branch, is the largest of the lemurs. the indri It's like scoring a goal in the 90th minute, eagerly awaited after more than 6 hours of walking. There are two of them, and we're almost mesmerized watching them. It is the most mythical and mystical lemur, as a local saying goes: "He owns the treetops, while humans own the earth; in mutual respect." And it's amazing how this teddy bear-like animal can jump from tree to tree with so much agility; but nature is also capable of such wonders. Now we can return, we must, since the

The road towards the capital is still long, busy, and in disrepair. Just before exiting the park, almost like a domestic cat, one last brown lemur crosses the path with its agile form and long tail. And it's precisely this final farewell that we want to associate with the title "tail". The rest will be dust and smoke until Tana, so the long journey back.