Madagascar holidays are an amazing experience because many of the animals you can see on the island occur nowhere else in the world.
It has been estimated that 75% of the wildlife species that you will see are endemic such as the lemurs and half the chameleon varieties.
To improve your chances of seeing these animals and a lot of the others that this wonderful island has to offer, these are the Top Five wildlife destinations to visit as ranked by me using previous travel journals, TripAdvisor reports, forum posts, magazines and online articles...
1. Perinet (Analamazaotra) & Mantadia Reserves
To see lemur and frogs Perinet reserve is second to none. Nine species are found here like the Indri (the largest of them all) and some nocturnal species like the woolly and Rufus mouse lemurs.
This rainforest reserve also claims a world record for the number of frog inhabitants amongst areas of comparable size with over 100 documented species.
And you might be lucky enough on your Madagascar holiday to find the huge Parson's chameleon, Golden Mantilla and Blue Boa in the dense undergrowth.
Visit the Mantadia reserve situated about 40km from Perinet to see diadem sifaka, ruffed lemur and all four rainforest-dependent ground-rollers.
2. Berenty Reserve
Wide forest trails, comfortable accommodation, beautiful scenery and large populations of ringtail lemurs, brown lemurs and Verreaux’ Sifakas characterise this small reserve.
Other wildlife includes flying foxes (bats with a wingspan of over a metre), lizards, chameleons, the endangered radiated tortoise and dozens of species of rare birds which makes Madagascar travel so exciting and rewarding.
3. Montagne D'Ambre
This reserve is easy to get to and has a good trail system, labelled trees and points of interest.
Two waterfalls form the focal points and there are crater lakes and viewpoints over the forest and surrounding area.
You will be able to see up to seven species of lemur here including Sanford's brown and the crowned variety.
Birds include the Madagascar crested ibis, Malagasy kingfisher, Madagascar blue pigeon and forest rock-thrush which form part of the 73 recorded species residing here.
4. Ranomafana National Park
This park is very popular for Madagascar holidays and receives a lot of visitors... but don't let that put you off because you can see 12 species of lemur here like the ruffed, red-bellied and all three bamboo species and a variety of rare birds and frogs.
The park is extremely mountainous which helped in the conservation of the animals there before it was inaugurated in May 1991.
5. Masoala National Park and Nosy Mangabe Island
Masoala is the youngest of the parks to be visited on Madagascar holidays having only been proclaimed in 1997 and it is also the largest protected area.
The red ruffed lemur is only found in this park and nowhere else and a bird that was thought to be extinct (the Madagascar serpent eagle) was recently rediscovered here.
The reserve contains significant portions of lowland and coastal rainforest. These habitats contain other lemur species such as the hairy-eared dwarf.
Nosy Mangabe is a stronghold for the ruffed and white-fronted lemurs and the bizarre aye aye. Nosy Mangabe's reptilian denizens include the fringed (leaf-tailed) gecko.
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