Backpacking in Madagascar: Visiting the Lemurs Park near Antananarivo
June 22 2023 | Tagged: Madagascar
One of my Top 9 things to do in Antananarivo is to visit the Lemurs Park Madagascar, a Lemur Reserve and Botanical Park just 22 km from town. And today I went and backpacked it, in true Nomadic Backpacker style, using local transport to get there, which I detail at the end of this post.
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After getting off the taxi-brousse:
It's a short walk to the park entrance:
Here are the details for the entrance fees:
You needed to be guided around. And as I was alone, I was tagged onto a couple who had arrived just before me.
My guide was Jonathon:
My guide was Jonathon:
The Lemurs' Park was established in 2001, set up to rehome and help the dwindling population of Madagascar's national animal.
The Lemur is endangered. Close to extinction. They are a protected species but yet they are still hunted and kept as pets.
The Lemurs' Park currently has 7 species including:
Black Lemur
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Coquerel's Sifaka Lemur
Crowned Sifaka Lemur
Ring-tailed Lemur
The park is just 5 hectares so there is a limit on the numbers that can be cared for there. The different species have their own territories within the park. So they work in collaboration with other national parks where they are reintroduced to the wild.
The mating season depends on the species but only once year and they only give birth to 1 baby at a time and with the gestation period between 3.5 and 5.5 months it will take a long time to get the numbers back up which is why the work at the Lemurs' Park is vital.
The Lemur is endangered. Close to extinction. They are a protected species but yet they are still hunted and kept as pets.
The Lemurs' Park currently has 7 species including:
Black Lemur
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Coquerel's Sifaka Lemur
Crowned Sifaka Lemur
Ring-tailed Lemur
The park is just 5 hectares so there is a limit on the numbers that can be cared for there. The different species have their own territories within the park. So they work in collaboration with other national parks where they are reintroduced to the wild.
The mating season depends on the species but only once year and they only give birth to 1 baby at a time and with the gestation period between 3.5 and 5.5 months it will take a long time to get the numbers back up which is why the work at the Lemurs' Park is vital.
A great moment for the Nomadic Backpacker timeline. My first sighting of a Lemur. The male Black Lemur:
A bit closer:
The female Black Lemur:
Crowned Sifaka Lemur:
Coquerel's Sifaka named after the French entomologist, Charles Coquerel:
Black and White Ruffed Lemur:
Ring-tailed Lemur:
You can see many tortoises here too
And after, enjoy a good meal and a beer in the on site restaurant:
How to get to the Lemurs Park:
Despite being only 22 km from Antananarivo, I was a bit of a mission to get to using local transport.
Here is the map showing the location of the Lemurs' Park:
Here is the map showing the location of the Lemurs' Park:
The mini vans here in Madagascar are known as Le Taxi-Bousse. You can't miss them. They are everywhere and if you live by the catch phrase 'travel like a local', this is what you are gonna be using.
The big problem with Les Taxis-Brousse other than them being cramped and being a major cause of the pollution here, is knowing where they start and finish and what routes they follow.
I had some vague knowledge I gained from the tourist office. On RN 1 heading southwest out of town there is, or rather was the Southern Taxi-Brousse Station as pinpointed on Google Maps and MapsMe. This is no longer in use!
Les Taxis-Brousse line up on RN 1 in the Anosibe district after the Colas Madagascar Construction. The road that goes past the now defunct Southern Taxi-Brousse Station. It's chaotic in the extreme!
The Lemurs' Park is just near the small town of Katsaoka. This is the key word you need to remember. Don't try and muster in your best French, "Excuse me but do you go to Katsoaka?" Not every one speaks French here. Locals who started working at 5 years old, had no time to go to school, so just say Katsoaka and look inquisitive.
I got lucky with the first Taxi-Brousse I asked. We crawled along picking up passengers. The drivers mate who hangs off the back, collects the money.
"9,000 Ariary". I was like, that's steep. But whatever. I had found locals very trusting and until now, prices were never inflated.
I gave him a 20,000 note. Sometime later I get my change. 18,200. So the ride was 1,800 Ariary not 9,000 Ariary. Weird I hear your ask? Sort of. Up until 2005 they used a different currency. The Malagasy Franc. This is 5 times the Malagasy Ariary. 1,800 x 5 is 9,000. And 18 years later, prices are still quoted in the old money. I knew that.
But I have been quoted prices before but when they are using the old money, they say 2,000 for example but when they are using the new money, they add the distinction, 2,000 Ariary. And the drivers mate was a young lad. He was just a few years old when the change was made. It would be like me using the old English money, Pounds, Shillings and pence.
And he definitely said 9,000 Ariary! So yup, confusing to say the least.
Trafffic going out of town is mental. Actually it's mental everywhere and despite it being only 20km, it took nearly 90 minutes.
From the bus stop it's just a 5 minute walk to the Lemurs' Park.
Glady, on the way back I caught a ride with newly made friends!
The big problem with Les Taxis-Brousse other than them being cramped and being a major cause of the pollution here, is knowing where they start and finish and what routes they follow.
I had some vague knowledge I gained from the tourist office. On RN 1 heading southwest out of town there is, or rather was the Southern Taxi-Brousse Station as pinpointed on Google Maps and MapsMe. This is no longer in use!
Les Taxis-Brousse line up on RN 1 in the Anosibe district after the Colas Madagascar Construction. The road that goes past the now defunct Southern Taxi-Brousse Station. It's chaotic in the extreme!
The Lemurs' Park is just near the small town of Katsaoka. This is the key word you need to remember. Don't try and muster in your best French, "Excuse me but do you go to Katsoaka?" Not every one speaks French here. Locals who started working at 5 years old, had no time to go to school, so just say Katsoaka and look inquisitive.
I got lucky with the first Taxi-Brousse I asked. We crawled along picking up passengers. The drivers mate who hangs off the back, collects the money.
"9,000 Ariary". I was like, that's steep. But whatever. I had found locals very trusting and until now, prices were never inflated.
I gave him a 20,000 note. Sometime later I get my change. 18,200. So the ride was 1,800 Ariary not 9,000 Ariary. Weird I hear your ask? Sort of. Up until 2005 they used a different currency. The Malagasy Franc. This is 5 times the Malagasy Ariary. 1,800 x 5 is 9,000. And 18 years later, prices are still quoted in the old money. I knew that.
But I have been quoted prices before but when they are using the old money, they say 2,000 for example but when they are using the new money, they add the distinction, 2,000 Ariary. And the drivers mate was a young lad. He was just a few years old when the change was made. It would be like me using the old English money, Pounds, Shillings and pence.
And he definitely said 9,000 Ariary! So yup, confusing to say the least.
Trafffic going out of town is mental. Actually it's mental everywhere and despite it being only 20km, it took nearly 90 minutes.
From the bus stop it's just a 5 minute walk to the Lemurs' Park.
Glady, on the way back I caught a ride with newly made friends!
Check out the Lemurs Park website.