Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fined to Ankarana where thousands of these plants occur. The low-growing species,
E.aureo-viridiflora,E.herman-schwarzii
and
E.neohumbertii
,andthelargerspecies,
E. pachypodioides
and
E. tirucalli
, also occur in this area.
Commiphora
spp, medium-sized trees, are common on the
tsingy
and are readily
identifiedbytheprofusescalingofbark,usuallybrownbutsometimeswithagreenish
tinge. Eventually clumps of bark are shed to leave attractive pale-coloured plaques
among the scaly bark.
Dalbergia
spp,
Cassias
(with pale green fine foliage appearing
in October) and
Tamarindus indica
are huge trees common on the
tsingy. Adenia epi-
gea
(huge globular caudiciforms with a base up to 1m in diameter) and
A. lapiazicola
are common at Ankarana and
A. firingalavensis
occurs at Bemaraha.
A. firingalaven-
sis
iseasilyidentifiedbythedarkdullgreencolourofthecaudexwhichusuallytapers
upwards, but is occasionally spherical. It sometimes lacks a caudex when growing on
soil,suchasatKirindy,suggestingthattheharshconditionsofthe
tsingy
maycontrib-
ute to caudex formation as a survival mechanism.
Hildegardia erythrosiphon
is a medium-sized tree with a buttressed base and
masses of brilliant red flowers which are easily seen above the canopy in the decidu-
ous forest. The bright yellow flowers with dark red or purple throat of
Uncarina
spp
are also visible from a distance in the sparse forest.
U. ankaranensis
is confined to
Ankarana, but
U. peltata
and
U. sakalava
are more widely distributed.
The dry deciduous forests in which the
tsingy
occur are characterised by very high
local plant and animal endemism at the species, genera and family levels. While the
adjacent grasslands are virtually sterile landscapes because of the ravages of compre-
hensive vegetation clearing and relentless slash-and-burn agriculture, the microenvir-
onmentsonthe
tsingy
haveremainedrelativelyintactandareamongthemostreward-
ing areas for plant enthusiasts visiting Madagascar.
Tanankoay
(4 bungalows & tents)
m
032 02 226 62;
e
rj_tony@yahoo.fr
. Simple
bungalows & campsite on the north side of the river. Only squat toilets for campers. €€€
Auberge de Tsingy
Book via Morondava Beach (see
Click Here
). Simple dbl bunga-
lows with shared facilities. €
Camping Manambolo
Main campsite on north shade of mango groves. Snack bar,
shared bucket shore of river; by park entrance. Very picturesque in showers & squat toi-
lets. Tent rental. €
EXCURSIONS IN THE PARK
Although there are forested areas of the park with good
wildlife, it is the
tsingy
that makes this place special. The park is divided broadly into the
Petit Tsingy
and
Grand Tsingy,
with circuits of widely varying difficulty. The easiest cir-
cuit is
Tantely
(2 hours), which gets you among the pinnacles of the Petit Tsingy. This can
be combined with the
Andadoany
forest walk to make a four-hour circuit. However, for
