DAY 3 Madagascar
Road trip🇲🇬
12/05/2025 Morondava - Kirindy - Baobab alley - Morondava :
Trip plan:140 km - about 4hrs drive round trip (dirt road) : Today, we will take a 4WD car and go to reach Kirindy reserve - Arrival and visit of the reserve to spot : Lemurs, dry forest, baobab and some birds - Lunch at leisure and drive back to Morondava, along the way, you will visit the lover baobab and other species + villages - Finally, you will have a last stop at the famous baobab alley and spend time there until the sunset - It will be an unforgettable and an amazing moment - Transfer to your hotel and overnight.
The city is famous amongst other things for the spectacular Avenue of the Baobabs nearby at 
20.251000°S 44.418403°E. These giant baobab trees are an 800-year-old legacy of the dense tropical forests that once throve here. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were steadily cut down, leaving only the baobab trees, which the locals preserved for religious reasons. Today, deforestation still continues as large areas of this region, including some of few remaining baobabs, are cleared to make way for sugar cane plantations.
The Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located 150 km north of Morondava. The road from Morondava is poor, but Tsingy de Bemaraha is reachable by 4x4 in approximately 10 hours. In the South there is the Andranomena Reserve.
We drove on the dirt road for about 10 minutes and saw the first baobabs, and then we saw more and more until we reached the most beautiful spot, which was a conservation area, where we pulled over to take pictures of these beautiful giant trees.
Along the way, we also saw oxen pulled by carts that villagers still use as vehicles for traveling or transporting agricultural products both short and long distances.
This road may look very rough, but in fact it is a major road between cities, so we may encounter large cargo trucks coming in the opposite direction or we may have to overtake them, which is a complete contrast to the images of carts and people carrying goods on their heads walking on the road.
And of course, in the future, development will gradually come to this road, and these giant trees will be threatened by humans who want more space to live. Therefore, the conservation of the baobab is a project that deserves the support of the government and all of us
Allee Des Baobabs protected area
Allée des BaobabsOne of Madagascar's most recognisable images, this small stretch of the RN8 between Morondava and Belo-sur-Tsiribihina is flanked on both sides by majestic Adansonia grandidieri baobabs. Some of the trees here may be 1000 years old, with huge, gnarled branches fanning out at the top of their trunks – it’s easy to see why they’ve been nicknamed ‘roots of the sky’.
The actual stretch of road is shorter than many visitors expect, but even this brief concentration in honour-guard formation is without parallel anywhere else in the country.The best times to visit Allée des Baobabs are at sunset and sunrise, when the colours of the trees and surrounding earth deepen and the long shadows are most pronounced. That said, every vehicle driving down from Parc National Bemaraha aims to get here around sunset and it can therefore be very busy, particularly during the park’s high season (July to September).
With popularity has arisen a small-scale local industry, with an excellent facility set up by the local community at the southern entrance to the Allée. It includes a gorgeous gift shop selling local handicrafts, lemur field guides and baobab jam or oils, as well as a coffee shop/bar, superclean toilets and a small breakfast restaurant. The whole complex opens at 5am and closes after the last sunset visitors leave. The handicraft shops across the road are part of the same setup. It's a worthy project that deserves your support. Parking costs Ar2000 per vehicle.
( If you don’t plan to see the Allée on your way to/from attractions north of Morondava ( Parc National Bemaraha, Tsiribihina or Réserve Forestière de Kirindy), a taxi from Morondava town costs at least Ar60,000 return. All tour operators in Morondava can also help you out.)
We drove to The Kirindy Forest where is a private nature reserve situated in western Madagascar, it’s will took about 50 minutes from the Baobabs allee to there . The forest reserve falls within the boundaries of the Kirindy Mitea National Park.
We arrived at the Kirindy Forest. There were 2 guides who took care of us and showed us around the place. They divided us into 2 groups. The first place they took us to see the Fossa, which was looking for food in the kitchen area. Then we went to see the Lemur in the trees. Along the way, our guide pointed out a mouse lemur sleeping in a hollow tree, from which we could only see its eyes. After walking for a while, our guide heard the call of a coua bird. He led us to follow the sound and we came across a large blue and white bird. A Crested coua with beautiful eyes. Later we saw a male and female Paradise flycatcher. At one point we saw a large parrot perch on a branch but it was hard to get a clear picture. Finally before the end of our time we followed a Giant coua in the bushes which was very difficult to photograph. We headed back out of the trail. While we were resting in the car, a friend came up to us and said that someone seen a Giant coua on the road by the forest edge. So we quickly grabbed our cameras and followed him, and got some beautiful shots of the bird, just as we had hoped.
Kirindy Forest
The forest goes through two general seasons each year: the dry season, from March to December, and the rainy season, from December to March. The forest is home to a wide variety of animals, from lemurs and fossas to geckos and chameleons, and numerous birds, the majority of which are found nowhere else. Many species of iconic plants are also found in the region, from baobabs and spiny palms to Alluaudiaand euphorbs. In its infancy, the forest reserve was operated based on a sustainable timber harvesting experiment, as deforestation is an issue which has not left the region unaffected. It is said, in Malagasy culture, that the forest was named ‘Kirindy’ long ago, meaning "dense forest with wild animals". As it is located in the northern area of the Kirindy Mitea National Park, the forest is also known as "Kirindy Nord", or ‘northern Kirindy’. Before being renamed Kirindy, the area was called the Swiss people’s forest ("la foret des Suisses"), as a Swiss company owns the piece of land.
The fossa, a medium-sized, cat-like member of the mongoose family, is the apex predator of Kirindy (and indeed all of Madagascar), apart from humans; its diet is largely made-up of lemurs, and the primates are constantly on the lookout for prowling fossas. According to,by 2050, the fossa will be driven to extinction if the deforestation rates continue to climb. The Malagasy giant jumping rat (Hypogeomys antimena) is endangered due to multiple factors, such as habitat loss, slow gestationor reproductive rates, and gradually human-limited range. The Kirindy Forest may be the best-known (if not the only) location where the species still occurs. This endemic rat can hop, like a miniature kangaroo (though it is not a marsupial), but is also seen walking on all four limbs.
The Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae) is a diminutive, shy and nocturnal primate. This lemur is the smallest primate in the world (Gron 2009). The red-tailed sportive lemur is also present in the forest, a nocturnal lemur that weighs, on average, 800 g.Madame Berthe's mouse lemurs use the tangles of tree vines to sleep in. Because of its limited spread, it is thought that they are specialist creatures that will live only in that one specific environment. Another idea suggests that they most likely compete with the gray mouse lemur (M. murinus), chiefly for resources.
Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi), or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. Critically Endangered, it lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar and the spiny thickets of the south. Its fur is thick and silky and generally white with brown on the sides, top of the head, and on the arms. Like all sifakas, it has a long tail that it uses as a balance when leaping from tree to tree. However, its body is so highly adapted to an arboreal existence, on the ground its only means of locomotion is hopping. The species lives in small troops which forage for food.
Verreaux's sifakas are diurnal and arboreal, and engage in sunbathing with outstretched arms and legs. They move through the trees by clinging and leaping between vertical supports. They are capable of making remarkable leaps through the trees - distances of 9–10 m are not uncommon. On the ground, they hop bipedally.They live in family groups, or troops, of 2-12, which may consist of one male and female, or many males and females together. Group and population sex ratio can be more or less skewed toward males. Many groups seem to be effectively harem groups with a single dominant male unrelated with resident female(s).They have a home range of 2.8 to 5.0 ha, and although they are territorial, they defend food sources rather than territorial boundaries, as often boundaries overlap. Females are dominant over males, forming a matriarchal society.
Oplurus cuvieri
As some of the common names suggest, O. cuvieri has a distinctive black collar that stands out against the body which is speckled with lighter spots. It has a large head, and the relatively short tail has spiny scales. The female is a duller brown colour.
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| Eutropis multifasciata |
The crested coua (Coua cristata) is a common medium-sized bird member of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae.It is endemic to Madagascar,mainly found in the coastal regions of the island. The crested coua is a weak flyer, so it will often be observed hopping from branch to branch in high canopies. It is distinguished mainly by its greenish-grey back, its prominent grey head crest, rufous-coloured breast, white abdomen and bright turquoise and blue patches of bare skin around the eyes.
Crested couas are endemic to Madagascar and are the most widespread of all couas. Although their population numbers are unknown, their range is thought to be 562,000 km2 along the coast of the island. They are found at altitudes as high as 900m above sea level, but are most commonly seen around altitudes of 700m.
Despite being mostly found in littoral and deciduous forests, their habitats also consist open areas like savannas and brushlands. They will occasionally be found in mangroves and palms as well. Additionally, they usually avoid deciduous shrublands, selecting mainly for mosaics of forests and croplands. As arboreal species, they tend to use forest layers above five meters and they nest, on average, around nine meters from the ground.
Malagasy paradise flycatcher
The Malagasy paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Comoros, Madagascar, and Mayotte. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
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| Male malagasy paradise flycatcher |
This species is a regional endemic found on Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros islands. It is common in all native forest types except montane forest, at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[It also occurs, though less frequently, in other wooded habitats, including plantations, gardens and secondary forest.
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| Female malagasy paradise flycatcher |
Like all members of its genus, the Malagasy paradise flycatcher is an insectivore, feeding on a variety of insects.It regularly joins mixed-species flocks, particularly those containing common newtonias. It is a "follower" in such flocks, allowing other birds to work as "beaters"; it follows them and hunts down any insect prey they flush. Studies have shown that the paradise flycatcher's foraging efficiency is directly correlated to the number of common newtonia in a flock; a greater number of common newtonias results in a higher foraging efficiency for any accompanying Malagasy paradise flycatchers. When rufous vangas, which generally forage within a meter (yard) or so of the ground, are present in the same mixed-species flocks as Malagasy paradise flycatchers, the latter preferentially follow the vangas, and therefore forage closer to the ground than they normally do.
In Madagascar it is more common in portions of the dry deciduous forests, compared with the lesser vasa parrot which is more common in the humid forests of the east coast.[1] Feeds, in large, noisy flocks, on wild berries, fruits, nuts and seeds and also on cultivated maize, millet and rice. The bird is active on moonlit nights, otherwise they roost in large noisy flocks in the tops of large trees. A lookout warns of danger.
Greater vasa parrots in Lincolnshire Wildlife Park have been recorded using grinding technology – the first non-human animal to be observed doing this. They were observed holding date stones and pebbles in their beak to grind calicium-rich dust from seashells. It happens most frequently just before the breeding season and the males were observed doing it more often. A possible explanation is the females need the extra calcium to build eggshells and the males feed them with regurgitated food.
The crested drongo (Dicrurus forficatus) is a passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is black with a bluish-green sheen, a distinctive crest on the forehead and a forked tail. There are two subspecies; D. f. forficatus is endemic to Madagascar and D. f. potior, which is larger, is found on the Comoro Islands. Its habitat is lowland forests, both dry and humid, and open savannah country. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".
The Malagasy bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis) is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found on Madagascar and other regional islands in the south-western Indian Ocean.
The Giant coua
huge long-tailed long-legged bird.Rufous belly and blue-and-pink bare facial skin
The giant coua (Coua gigas) is a bird species from the coua genus in the cuckoofamily that is endemic to the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar. It is suggested that couas probably originated from a particular Asian ground-cuckoo (Dinets 2007). The genus coua contains 10 species, more than any other genus in Madagascar (Moreau 1966). Although the bird is listed under least concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,it only persists in the biological hot spot of Madagascar, warranting its recognition as a species of conservation concern at the global scale.
Giant couas are approximately 62 cm (24 in) in length (nearly double the size of Coua coquereli) and have a blue patch around their eyes, characteristic of the coua genus and similar to African turacos. As a member of the cuckoo family, they have a reversible third toe and resemble coucals in their method of scrambling through entangled vines for food. Observations indicate that they can climb 10 metres high from the ground.
Coua gigas subsist on seeds (Capurodendron madagascariensis and Buxus madagascariensis), insects and some small vertebrates such as chameleons (Furcifer sp.).This species of bird is often encountered in large unlogged gallery forests that lack dense shrub layers, which provides greater mobility and implies a preference for undisturbed forest with tall trees.Studies indicate that in logged forests, giant couas usually glean during dry seasons and more often leap and sally during rainy seasons.In contrast, they have been found to do the opposite in forested areas (more often glean during rainy seasons and more often probe during dry seasons), which suggests the significant role that environment plays in foraging behaviour.Giant coua tend to utilise microhabitats in logged forests with a greater canopy cover, and forage in logged gallery forests with higher canopies than other areas while avoiding sites with more stems and obstacles . 
Baobab Amoureux
the Baobab Amoureux, which are two notable Adansonia za trees—also an endemic baobab species—that have become twisted to each other as they grew.According to legend, these two baobabs came and grew together across the centuries. Baobabs found themselves after an impossible love between a young man and young woman of the nearby village. Both youths already had designated partners and had to marry separately in their respective villages. However, the impossible couple dreamed of a life and child together and asked the help of their god. Both baobabs were born and now live there for eternity as one as the couple always wished.Adansonia is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ) or adansonias. They are placed in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.The trees have also been introduced to other regions such as Barbados where several specimens are of suspected African origin.Others were introduced to Asia.A genomic and ecological analysis has suggested that the genus is Madagascan in origin.
The generic name honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described Adansonia digitata. The baobab is also known as the "upside down tree", a name that originates from its appearance and several myths. They are among the most long-lived of vascular plantsand have large flowers that are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours.The flowers open around dusk, opening so quickly that movement can be detected by the naked eye, and are faded by the next morning. The fruits are large, oval to round and berry-like and hold kidney-shaped seeds in a dry, pulpy matrix. As of July 2020, there are eight recognized species of Adansonia, with six endemic to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and one native to Australia. The mainland African species (Adansonia digitata) also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island. Baobabs were introduced in ancient times to south Asia and during the colonial era to the Caribbean. They are also present in the island nation of Cape Verde.A ninth species was described in 2012 (Adansonia kilimaPettigrew, et al.)but is no longer recognized as a distinct species.The African and Australian baobabs are similar in appearance, and the oldest splits within Adansonia are likely no older than 15 million years; thus, the Australian species represents a long-distance trans-oceanic dispersal event from Africa. The lineage leading to Adansonia was found to have diverged from its closest relatives in Bombacoideae like Ceiba /Chorisia at the end of the Eocene, during a time of abrupt global climate cooling and drying, while a divergence of this Adansonia+Ceiba /Chorisia clade from Pachirawas found to be more ancient, dating to the middle Eocene
The genus Adansonia is in the subfamily Bombacoideae, within the family Malvaceae in the order Malvales. The subfamily Bombacoideae was previously treated as the Bombacaceae family but it is no longer recognized at the rank of family by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group I 1998, II 2003 or the Kubitzki system 2003. There are eight accepted species of Adansonia. A new species (Adansonia kilima Pettigrew, et al.), was described in 2012, found in high-elevation sites in eastern and southern Africa.[15]
This, however, is no longer recognized as a distinct species[16] but considered a synonym of A. digitata. Some high-elevation trees in Tanzania show different genetics and morphology, but further study is needed to determine if recognition of them as a separate species is warranted.[16] The genus Adansonia is further divided into three sections. Section Adansonia includes only A. digitata. This species has hanging flowers and fruit, set on long flowering stalks. This is the type species for the genus Adansonia.[10] All species of Adansonia except A. digitata are diploid; A. digitata is tetraploid.[15] Section Brevitubae includes A. grandidieri and A. suarexensis. These are species with flower buds that set on short pedicles and that are approximately twice as long as wide. The other species are all classified within the section Longitubae. They also have flowers/fruits set on short pedicels, but the flower buds are five or more times as long as wide
Life behind the Avenue of the Baobabs
There are no luxuries in the village behind the Avenue of the Baobabs, not even power or running water. Their small homes are built using traditional mud and stick methods. But this did not stop the inquisitive youths from welcoming us with beautiful smiles. As the mothers left to fetch water and the fathers left (on zebu cattle wagons) to plow the rice fields, the village kids approached us with a warm sense of fascination.
The word baobab in the Malagasy langue means“mother of the forest”. And they truly do have mother-like status.
Folktales of the Baobab’s existence follows something like this:
In the beginning, all the trees in Madagascar looked like “normal” trees do. But as the people destroyed the trees over time, god became unhappy. He warned the people of the land that they should treat the forest with respect. But the destruction continued. And so, God took all of the trees out of the ground and turned them upside down. Creating the baobab tree.
It seems like things haven’t really changed. To the locals living in the villages, the baobabs are a source of wood (and stored water in times of drought), but their removal for space to plant rice is much more profitable.
If we do not act now, Baobab Alley could disappear in the coming decades
The area is a natural monument under conservation since July 2015, but the trees are still threatened by further deforestation, effluents from encroaching paddy fields, bushfires, and forest fires. Despite its popularity as a tourist destination, the area has no visitor center or gate fees, and local residents receive little income from tourism. Fanamby, a Malagasy non-governmental organization, has launched an ecotourismproject aimed at conservation of the area and economic improvement for the local community since 2014 and has inaugurated infrastructures to help them promote the area in 2018.
Engage and respect
While the scene of villagers conducting their daily life in front of the Baobab Alley backdrop makes for a great photo opportunity.
It’s easy to forget that in this surreal world that the people are in fact real, living real lives.
Life behind the Baobab alley is full of genuinely beautiful people trapped in a world run by money (like us all). And as more and more Baobab trees are destroyed to make way for rice paddies (their source of income), the village slowly loses its cultural identity.
When traveling to the Baobab Alley (or anywhere for that matter) please do not forget to respect the locals and their way of life.
Good night
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