Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from the MNP office, you will most likely need your own vehicle or bicycle. Transport can
usually be arranged with park staff, or sometimes through guides and local hotels.
THE WAILING INDRI
The wondrous indri has been described as looking like 'a four-year-old child in
a panda suit' and is famous for its eerie cry, a whooping siren that can be heard
over a mile away. It is used mainly to define a particular group's territory,
though there are also distinct mating and alarm calls. Indris are active on and off
throughout the day, beginning about an hour after daybreak, which is usually the
best time to see them. Despite the incredible cacophony of sound that comes out
of the forest, each individual only calls for about four or five minutes per day.
Indris eat complex carbohydrates, and therefore need to spend much of their
day in a sedentary manner digesting their food. They spend most of their time
high in the forest canopy, feeding, sleeping and sunning themselves. Their
powerful hind legs make them capable of 7m horizontal leaps from tree to tree,
perfectly balanced despite their stump-like tails. Indris are also very sensitive to
any change in environment, which is the main reason for their endangered status
- not only does deforestation threaten their habitat, but no indri has ever sur-
vived in captivity, as they simply stop eating and die.
PARC MITSINJO & RÉSERVE DE TOROTOROFOTSY
Located on the main road 150m from Parc National d'Andasibe,
Parc Mitsinjo
( 033
14 414 89, 034 15 854 24;
http://mitsinjogooglepages.com
;
7am-9pm) is a private re-
serve run by Association Mitsinjo, an association of guides set up to promote conservation
and community tourism. It's a great idea to add this to your itinerary before or after visit-
ing the main park. There are three circuits, a
short circuit
(Ar25,000), a
medium circuit
(Ar35,000) and a
long circuit
(Ar50,000). An excellent
night hike
within the actual forest
(60 to 90 minutes, Ar10,000 to Ar15,000, available 6.30pm to 9pm), gives you a much bet-
ter chance of seeing the smaller nocturnal lemurs, sleeping chameleons and rare leaf-tailed
lizards, while a
full-day trek
covers both forest and wetlands (Ar80,000).
Camping
(sites
Ar5000) and pirogue trips (Ar10,000) are also available, and a new canopy tour will begin
in 2012. There's no separate entry fee.
Mitsinjo also manages the
Réserve de Torotorofotsy
, a varied and attractive landscape
of wetlands, forests and small villages known for its greater bamboo lemurs and excellent
birdwatching. For more information on these parks visit Mitsinjo's small handicrafts shop
in Andasibe itself, opposite the post office.
