Tsingy de Bemaraha: hiking Madagascar's stone forest
The Tsingy de Bemaraha is a forest of razor-sharp limestone pinnacles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most adventurous places you can hike in Madagascar.
What the Tsingy actually is
Tsingy means where one cannot walk barefoot, and you will understand why. Rain has eroded an ancient limestone plateau into a maze of needle-sharp grey towers, slot canyons and caves. Walkways, ladders and suspension bridges let you climb up and over the pinnacles, with via ferrata cables for the steeper sections.
The hikes
There are routes for different fitness levels, from gentler trails through the Petit Tsingy to the full Grand Tsingy circuit with rope bridges and tight squeezes through the rock. You will need decent shoes, a head for heights on the high sections, and a harness, which guides provide. Endemic lemurs, chameleons and birds live among the formations.
Getting there and when to go
The park is remote, reached by 4x4 and a river ferry from Morondava via Bekopaka. The road is only passable in the dry season, roughly May to November, which is also the best time for the hikes. Most travellers combine the Tsingy with the Avenue of the Baobabs and Kirindy Forest on a western loop.
Because the logistics are involved, this is a trip worth having planned for you. Ask us to build your western adventure.