Ikalalao..   Ambodena..   Ampanihy..

Ikalalao forest

Ikalalao extends its thousand year old forests over more than 400 hectares. The remains of this primary forest host a luxuriant vegetation composed with many varieties of vegetals and particularly a multitude of brackens and orchids. Large slender trees interlaced with lianas essential to the ecosystem are today endangered because of wild cutting. Together with the traditional and administrative authorities of the island, HSM group participates to their protection in organizing guided trekkings, respecting an ecotouristic ethics. A traditional tax, the "Dina", is paid to allow the surrounding villages to have alternative incomes. Situated near the forest, the Masoandro Lodge is ideally located for naturalist trekking in the area.

The forest of Ikalalao shelters several types of lemurs, among which the microcebus, a tiny nocturnal species with large eyes and feeding itself on fruits and flowers nectar.

Another nocturnal species, larger with ringed eyes (cheirogaleus major major) can stock fat reserves in its tail to hibernate. There is also a large variety of birds including two types of black parrots, blue pigeons, parakeets, hummingbirds and several small birds of prey in this forest. Cute reddish-brown bats (pteropus rufus) can be found at the top of certain trees. Endemic chameleons are also well represented with some of the largest and the smallest ones (furcifer pardalis, calumna nasuta or parsonii, brookesia).

Ambodena forest

Ambodena is a secondary forest with varied forests still hardly frequented due to its location, size (more than 500 ha) and some traditional taboos. You can find dry zones with sandy ground as well as wet and sometimes marshy surfaces. If some of its borders are sometimes planted with coffee-trees, clove-trees and cinnamon trees, it is rather dominated by melastomaceous and liliaceous plants, travellers trees (ravinalas), philippia, and raffia palm trees. It spreads out from Andranomainty's Lake on the east dunes to the north of the island. Situated at a few kilometers north Masoandro Lodge, a quick car transfer can bring you to the starting point of its ways.

The largest forest of Sainte Marie has a particularly wild and virgin character. You can go some of its paths in family, but an experienced local guide is required to cross indepth.

For the greatest happiness of naturalists, a profusion of animal species can be observed in the forest. You can easily find many birds, reptiles, geckos (phelsuma guttata, uroplatus), chameleons (madagascariensis et quadriocellata, calumma parsonii,calumma brevicomis) small harmless boas (Sanzinia manditra) as well as batrachians, among which arboreal frogs with melodious songs living under pandanus leaves (anodonthyla boulengen). Several lemur species live wild there, of which significant groups of microcebus and hapalémurs griseus and some couples of varecias and albifrons.

Ampanihy forest

Coastal forest, it covers the dunes surrounding the bay of Ampanihy. This lagoon, whose mangroves form a long vault under which one can sail as in a vegetal tunnel, is fed by a source of submarine fresh water which according to an old legend was discovered following to a friendship of a man with a big fish. Access to the village of Anafiafy, the starting point of the dugouts which will lead you to this peninsula, is from Masoandro Lodge by crossing the Ikalalao forest or by the track with a car.

Classified protected natural reserve, the mangrove of Ampanihy plays a significant role in the formation and the survival of the coral barrier, and thus for the littoral's safeguarding.

At the meeting of ground, sea and fresh water, mangroves biotopes are among the richest ecosystems of the planet. Sheltered from big predators, the air pneumatophorous and at the same time under marines labyrinth of roots is an ideal refuge for a profusion of small animals. Immature turtles for example find lodging and food there. Crabs, shrimps and lobsters abound . Birds are also numerous of which the Dronga (dicrurus forficatus), the Voron-tseny (Bird which weaves its nest in bundle, with heel and egg on top), the himantopus wader of Madagascar and the Coua which does not fly but moves from branch to branch.