Madagascar: the eighth continent and the slow road through it

It’s 5:38 a.m. on the so-called Avenue of the Baobabs, the kilometre stretch of road in western Madagascar where two dozen 30-metre-tall Adansonia grandidieri baobab trees still survive in a line that was, before deforestation, a forest. The sun is just coming up behind one of the trees. The shadow it throws across the laterite track is, briefly, twenty metres long. A small cart pulled by zebu cattle is creaking past at the speed of cattle. Two boys are walking by with backpacks for school. The country is doing what it does — slowly, beautifully, in the absence of much infrastructure.

Why I keep coming back

Madagascar broke off from the African continental plate roughly 165 million years ago, and from the Indian plate around 88 million years ago. The result is that the island’s flora and fauna evolved in isolation for an extraordinarily long time: roughly 90% of the species on Madagascar exist nowhere else. The lemurs (every single species), the baobabs, the chameleons, the fossa, the tenrec — Madagascar’s biology is the singular reason to travel here.

The country is also one of the poorest in the world by per-capita GDP, with infrastructure that reflects that reality. Roads are slow. Internal flights are unreliable. Even the most basic journey between regions takes a full day or two. The Madagascar trip rewards travellers willing to give it time.

Where to base yourself

Madagascar is not a ‘base in one place’ trip. It’s a circuit. The classic itineraries:

The RN7 (Route Nationale 7) south from Antananarivo — Tana → Antsirabe → Ranomafana → Isalo → Tulear. The most-travelled circuit, two weeks of slow driving with three national parks. The best introduction.

The northwest — Diego Suarez, the Tsingy de Bemaraha, Morondava and the Avenue of the Baobabs. Spectacular and harder to reach.

The east coast — Andasibe National Park (the closest indri-habitat to the capital), Maroantsetra and the Masoala peninsula. Wet, dense rainforest.

What to actually do

Visit Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. A 4-hour drive east of the capital; the easiest place to see the indri, the largest lemur and one with a song that carries kilometres through the rainforest. A 2-night stay is sufficient.

Hike Isalo National Park. A sandstone-and-canyon landscape in the south; multi-day hikes through gorges, natural swimming pools, and ring-tailed lemur troops.

See the Avenue of the Baobabs at sunset. West of Morondava, accessible by 4x4. The classic photograph.

Trek to the Tsingy de Bemaraha. A UNESCO-listed karst landscape of razor-sharp limestone pinnacles, requiring rope-and-ladder navigation. The trip from Morondava is rough — two days each way on dirt roads — but the landscape is genuinely unique.

Visit Ranomafana National Park. The classic eastern rainforest park, with several lemur species and one of the country’s longest-running primate research stations.

Spend a few days in Antananarivo. The capital is rarely loved by visitors but the old upper-town quarter has French colonial-era cobbled streets and the rova (royal palace, partially restored after a 1995 fire) is worth a half-day.

Where to eat

Malagasy food is rice-heavy (the country has one of the highest per-capita rice consumptions on earth), with French-colonial influence in the cities.

Romazava — The national dish; meat-and-greens stew over rice. Ravitoto — Pounded cassava leaves with pork. Madagascar street zebu skewers — Grilled zebu (the local cattle) with rice and tomato salsa. Coffee at Ku-De-Ta (Tana) — Modern café-restaurant; good Western breakfast options. French-influenced bistros in Tana — The food culture in the capital has a deep French inheritance.

Outside the major cities and lodges, food options are limited; you’ll eat at your hotel most evenings.

When to come

April through November is the dry season; the practical window for travel.

June–August can be cool in the highlands (below 10°C at night in Antsirabe).

December through March is the cyclone-affected rainy season; significant disruption to travel possible.

September and October is widely considered the optimal window: dry, the wildlife is active, the chameleons are breeding.

Practical notes

• Visa: E-visa for most Western passports.
• Money: Madagascar Ariary. Card accepted only at upper-end hotels and a few city restaurants. Cash is essential and ATMs are unreliable in rural areas; bring or exchange enough.
• Transport: Internal flights (Air Madagascar / Tsaradia) are useful but unreliable; allow buffer days for cancellations. The most practical inter-region travel is a hired vehicle and driver; budget around €80–150 per day plus fuel.
• Roads: Slow. The 800 km RN7 from Tana to Tulear takes 5+ days with park stops; the Tsingy access road is 2 days of dirt-road driving each way.
• Health: Yellow fever and standard tropical vaccinations; malaria prophylaxis recommended. Be cautious with tap water.
• Cost: The country is inexpensive in absolute terms but the logistics (drivers, park fees, internal flights) add up. A 14-day trip is usually US$3000–6000 per person, depending on lodge choices.

A final thought

Madagascar is one of the most distinctive countries I have travelled in and one of the most logistically demanding. The infrastructure has not, in twenty years, materially improved. The wildlife is, mostly, where it has always been — but several lemur species are now critically endangered, and the country’s slow deforestation continues at a depressing rate.

Go for at least two weeks. Do the RN7 south, or pair Andasibe with the Avenue of the Baobabs and Tsingy. Hire a private vehicle and driver. Stay in modest lodges close to the parks. Pay the park fees fully; they fund the conservation. Tip the local guides well. The country has its own pace, considerably slower than most travellers expect, and surrender to that pace is the precondition for any genuine experience. The lemurs will not be on schedule. The roads will not move faster. The patience is the whole point.