Isalo National Park was founded in 1962 and is under the management of Madagascar National Parks 1997. The park is located along the RN7, a formal road connecting the capital of Antananarivo with Tulear. The road is in well maintained and this facilitates the park to be accessed all year round. The route from Antananarivo to Ranohira, acts as the “door to Isalo” and this takes about 15 hours by car (701km).
The park covers an area of 81,540 hectares, with an average length of 59 kilometres and an average width of 22 kilometres making it an ideal place to visit due to the vast amazing features within it. The Isalo massif is a continental sandstone plateau, dating back to the Jurassic times. The park features various sandy valleys and narrow canyons which were strongly attacked by erosion hence leaving many jugged rocks standing up throughout the park.
Though the park has got limited wildlife compared to other parks of the country, there are still a couple of species which are good to look at including the Ring-tailed lemurs, brown lemurs, sifakas and 14 nocturnal lemurs hiding in dense vegetation along the streams within the park. Some trails which can be visited including the,
The piscine naturelle
This is a natural stone cave which overlooks a crystal-clear waterfall within the park, this falls into a deep green pool surrounded by overhanging pandanus trees. This piscine is a true oasis in the heat of the canyons
The Canyon des Singes
The Canyon des Singes which ideally means a canyon of monkeys and this is the most common hike through the dense foliage of the forest and here visitors get a chance of discovering the ring-tailed lemurs leaping through the trees, with their faces tilted to the sunrays. Lovely Sifakas, with their legs sideways along the ground can also be seen here at the trail.
Namaza circuit
A rather uneven canyon through luxuriant vegetation, a water fall and a deep swimming pool are seen from this trail as guides lead you throughout the activity while enjoying the nice to hear interesting stories regarding the park and the history of the Republic of Madagascar plus some exciting teachings in the local language when need arise.
