Quest for the Aye Aye and Undiscovered Masoala
Tour Introduction
Travel to the beautiful Masoala Peninsula in northeast Madagascar on this exciting tailor-made itinerary to discover the island’s largest tract of primary rainforest. In addition to a plethora of other fascinating fauna, one focus of the tour is to spot that most mysterious, charismatic and extraordinary of all Madagascar’s lemurs – the bizarre aye aye.
In the entertaining “The Aye Aye and I” written by Gerald Durrell following his last ever wildlife trip, the odd prosimian was described as resembling a Walt Disney witch’s black cat with a touch of ET thrown in for good measure. These days the aye aye is sadly very rare and, although protected, is often persecuted by certain tribes who believe it to be an ill omen.
The Farankaraina Forest near Maroantsetra is visited first for an excellent chance to see that most elusive of nocturnal lemurs. At least eight aye aye live within the forest here and – during August, September and October particularly – they can reliably be seen feeding on fruit-bearing Canarium trees. We have had a 90% success rate with aye aye sightings over a two night stay in the last three years and the revenue from our visits help the local rangers to provide much needed protection. The Farankaraina Forest is also home to five other nocturnal lemur species (dwarf, woolly, northern bamboo, mouse and sportive), around 100 bird species, including the Red-breasted Coua, Madagascar Crested Ibis and Chabert’s Vanga, as well as chameleons, frogs and three species of leaf-tailed geckos. There are also occasional sightings of the fossa.
After probable aye aye sightings, you begin exploration of the vast virgin rainforests of the pristine Masoala National Park. Masoala supports Madagascar’s greatest biodiversity with species new to science still being discovered there most years. Much of the fauna and flora is highly localised and found nowhere else in Madagascar. Lemurs often seen include the attractive red-ruffed, white-fronted brown and northern bamboo, while bird highlights include the rare and striking helmet vanga. The mossy lowland rainforest also supports numerous leaf-tailed geckos, tenrecs (Madagascar’s answer to the hedgehog), multi-coloured chameleons and improbable insects such as the flatid bug and giraffe necked weevil. During August and September breeding humpback whales add to the overall wildlife spectacle by breaching offshore.
For those wishing to immerse themselves in one of the planet’s most intriguing rainforests, this tour will be perfect. Other habitats such as the dry deciduous forest and the spiny forest can be added to make a longer, even more captivating journey.
Please Note: Madagascar Airlines operate flights between Tana and Maronantsetra on a Monday.
Full Itinerary
Arrive into Antananarivo (Tana). Met on arrival at the airport and transfer 10 minutes to your nearby hotel.
Staying at Au Bois Vert. Includes No Meals.
This morning pick up from the hotel and transfer (15 minutes) back to the airport to take Madagascar Airlines (Tsaradia) flight to Maroantsetra.
On arrival transfer by road (20 minutes) and boat (45 minutes) and finally on foot (15 mins easy walk) to the Farankaraina Forest. Porters will be on hand to carry your main luggage to the bungalows, but a day rucksack is recommended.
Spend some time at leisure enjoying a stroll or swim at the beach before dinner. In the evening take a night walk into the forest to look for dwarf and mouse lemurs and of course the aye aye.
Staying at Aye Aye Forest Camp. Includes All Meals.
Head into the 3000ha Farankaraina forest. The Aye Aye forest camp maintains a network of 10 km of trails, each with their own characteristics. Birders may want to head out at sunrise to look for the short-legged ground roller, red-breasted coua or the Madagascar wood-rail and return for a late breakfast. Or, after a hearty breakfast, look for white-fronted brown lemurs and one of the two groups of red-ruffed lemurs. Your guide will be ready at whatever time you would like to leave.
In the afternoon, travel in a pirogue to visit the village of Ambodivohangy. A farmer will explain how they grow local crops (vanilla, cloves, peppers, papaya, breadfruit, jackfruit, cacao, rice,...) and then the Women's Association will perform the toka toka, and other traditional dances. Make sure you bring some Ariary to spend on locally made crafts.
In the evening, walk along the beach looking up at the southern hemisphere stars, but keep an eye on the ground as the many ghost crabs skitter along the beach. Occasionally a fossa will make a fleeting appearance.
Staying at Aye Aye Forest Camp. Includes All Meals.
Head out early to hear the cacophony and watch the activity of the flying foxes nesting in the trees at Nosy Fanihy. Then cross the short distance to Nosy Mangabe, the island jewel of Masoala National Park. The black and white ruffed lemurs are only found on this island in the Antongil Bay. Your guide may also spot a Brookesia peyrierasi, the second smallest chameleon species. Enjoy a picnic lunch packed from our camp, followed by exploring more trails, looking for a well-chamouflaged leaf-tailed gecko, or a pygmy kingfisher.
Head back to the camp mid-afternoon, enjoy a swim or a nap, and then join your guide for another night walk where your flashlight might catch a nose-horned chameleon or the glow from the eyes of a dwarf lemur, and have another chance at finding an aye-aye.
Staying at Aye Aye Forest Camp. Includes All Meals.
After an early breakfast, the Aye-Aye Forest Camp boat will rendez-vous with another boat for the 2-hour ocean crossing to Masoala. Unpack before lunch, and then your guide will take you into the forest for an afternoon walk.
The bungalows are situated in a large private forest adjacent to the 240,000 ha Masoala National Park. Walk through the private forest which leads into the National Park trails, and look out for a red-tailed mongoose, a Madagascar white-eye, or listen for the mating call of the hook-billed vanga.
After sunset, head out on the forest path next to the ocean looking out for night life such as the woolly and sportif lemurs, tenrec, panther chameleon and a variety of different frogs.
Staying at EcoLodge Chez Arol. Includes All Meals.
Head back to Masoala Park in the morning when the birds are most active, and look out for the helmet vanga. Helmet vanga are shy birds that dislike disturbance but this is one of the best areas in Madagascar to see them. If you are quiet, you may spot a short-legged ground roller or a long-billed tetraka, and are sure to see bulbul, magpie robins and cuckoo shrike.
In the afternoon your guide will lead the way along the beach past a local village, where you will take a pirogue on a river trip. Look out for malachite kingfisher, or a white-throated rail hiding in the bushes of the riverbank.
Staying at EcoLodge Chez Arol. Includes All Meals.
Spend another day exploring Masoala National Park. Follow the calls of the large group of red-ruffed lemurs which are often found across the river from the lodge. Continue on the highland trail in Masoala National Park where you might see Bernier's vanga and blue coua.
In the afternoon enjoy a swim from the pristine sandy beach by the lodge, and then head out for another night walk before dinner.
Staying at EcoLodge Chez Arol. Includes All Meals.
Enjoy a last full day in Masoala to look for wildlife you have not yet seen. Be sure to check around the lodge property, where there is often a group of white-fronted brown lemurs.
After dark, you may find a bamboo lemur in one of the bamboo trees on the property, or a Madagascar scops owl perching in one of the trees at the edge of the forest. Take another night walk to look for woolly or sportif lemurs, or a web-casting spider.
Please note: Each day's activities are flexible and can be customised around your interests and discussed with your guide.
Staying at EcoLodge Chez Arol. Includes All Meals.
Today depart the lodge early for the boat transfer (1-3 hours) back to Maroantsetra.
Look out for the Madagascar pratincole, flocks of crested terns and occasionally even bottle-nosed dolphins or humpback whales (July - Sep) on the journey.
Transfer to Maroantsetra airport and take Madagascar Airlines (Tsaradia) flight to Tana. Met on arrival at the airport and transfer 10 minutes to the hotel.
Staying at Au Bois Vert. Includes Breakfast.
Morning transfer to the airport. Check in for international flight or domestic flight to another region of Madagascar.
Includes Breakfast.
Tour Accommodation
Au Bois Vert
Overview
Located a short drive from the airport and set in three hectares of peaceful and attractive gardens, accommodation is in rooms constructed using natural materials dominated by chunky wood and granite. All rooms have private bathrooms, satellite TV and safe. Facilities at the hotel include a swimming pool and a restaurant serving local and international cuisine.
The hotel is only 20 minutes from the airport so is an ideal location for a stopover.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Private bathrooms, TV, room safe, restaurant, swimming pool, Wi-Fi available in the lobby
Optional Activities
City tours can be arranged. Activities including mountain and quad biking, village tours and walking trips can be arranged offsite.
Aye-Aye Forest Camp
Overview
An all-inclusive experience at the Aye-Aye Forest Camp offers a unique combination of culture and wildlife in an authentic Malagasy setting. The adjacent 2,770-hectare Farankaraina Forest is known to be the best place to find aye-aye, and boasts a summit hike with an outstanding view of Antongil Bay.
Guests are assigned a personal guide who will lead you on a variety included activities during your stay. The forest is steps away and 10 km of trails are easily accessed for sunrise birding, daytime hikes and night walks. Spotting wildlife in the forest can be combined with a picnic lunch and then cool off in a nearby waterfall.
River trips are conducted in a local pirogue (canoe) where one can spot herons, egrets, malachite kingfishers and other waterbirds. A visit to a local village includes a walk with a farmer who shows how cacao, cloves, vanilla, rice, and other crops are grown, and then the local Women’s Association will perform traditional dances. A trip to Masoala National Park’s jewel island of Nosy Mangabe is included in guests’ stay at the Aye-Aye Forest Camp, where one can find black and white ruffed lemurs, the smallest chameleon, Brookesia peyrierasi, and more.
In the heat of the afternoon, enjoy the 1.5km pristine sandy beach and swimmable ocean temperatures year-round. At night, watch the ghost crabs skitter from your flashlight, and keep an eye out for tenrec, and possibly even a fossa.
The Aye-Aye Forest Camp works in partnership with other lodges in the area, and a package can be created combining a stay at the camp with either one of the lodges in Masoala National Park, or a hike into the mountains of Makira Natural Park to see the silky sifaka.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
The three spacious bungalows have vaulted ceilings and accommodate up to four people in each, with a master and two single beds, each with mosquito nets. Each bed has a bedside table, and two lockboxes are also provided for valuables. There is a private porch with an ocean view.
No Wi-Fi available, one washroom with a sink and toilet and another with a sink and shower, hot water, 24/7 electricity.
Local Wildlife
Eight species of lemur are found here, including; white-fronted brown lemurs and red-ruffed lemurs. On night walks, one can find dwarf, woolly, mouse, northern bamboo, sportive, and of course the endangered aye-aye lemurs.
Over 100 species of bird, including; Madagascar ibis, paradise flycatcher, bee-eater, red-breasted coua, wood-rail, various species of vanga.
Humpback whales during winter.
Optional Activities
All activities are included with your stay at Aye-Aye Forest Camp. These include; cultural visits, national park visits, hiking, swimming, boat trips, and much more.
EcoLodge Chez Arol
Overview
This very simple but friendly and rustic lodge is located adjacent to a golden-sand beach with secondary rainforest behind. It is within walking distance of the Masoala National Park and the primary rainforest with many walking trails to explore.
Accommodation is in wooden huts under thatched roofs made from local ravinala palm. The beds are simple but have mosquito nets and there is a small veranda to enjoy the sights and sounds of the forest from. There is a private toilet and with limited hot water showers (sometimes power cuts affect the supply) are available. Please note that there is no air-conditioning or fans in the room, but there is a regular sea breeze here to keep cool. The lodge is also very close to a small local village and there can sometimes be a little noise at the weekends.
As it is such a remote location electricity is solar powered and lighting is provided in the rooms only at certain times. There is a communal dining room with small library and bar with a good selection of locally sourced food provided for meals.
The Masoala peninsula protects the last remaining extensive coastal lowland rainforest in Madagascar. Given World Heritage Site status in June 2007 and accessible only by boat, the reserve boasts staggering biodiversity and a wide variety of habitats: lowland primary rainforest, littoral forest, marsh, flooded forest, mangrove and coral reefs.
Rainforest wildlife here can naturally be less conspicuous than in open habitats and the trails tend be a little steeper. However, this is one of the most rewarding areas of Madagascar for an immersive wildlife and nature experience. Highlights of Masoala include watching the beautiful red-ruffed lemur leaping through the canopy, inquisitive Northern bamboo lemurs feeding at eye level, tenrecs snuffling through the leaf litter, spotting superbly camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos and the spectacular helmet vanga, Madagascar’s most sought after bird.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Simple en suite rooms with mosquito nets and solar heated hot water showers. There is a cosy communal dining room and electricity supplied by generator between 6pm and 9 pm each evening only. There is no phone reception, Wi-Fi or modern amenities here.
Local Wildlife
Masoala's star species is the locally endemic red-ruffed lemur which can fairly easily seen. Other lemur species include the Northern bamboo, white-fronted brown, Masoala woolly, sportive and mouse lemurs and the greater dwarf lemur. Both greater hedgehog and lowland streaked tenrecs and the ring-tailed vontsira are all common. Reptile and frog diversity is the highest in all of Madagascar with the Uroplatus fimbriatus, leaf-tailed gecko very numerous, this species is perhaps the world’s most camouflaged lizard. Colourful day geckos, panther, Parson's and several Brookesia chameleons, boas and frogs such as the Madagascar reed frogs (Heterixalus) and white-lipped tree frog can all be seen. The birdlife is also special with the headline species being the stunning helmet vanga and other species include the Bernier's vanga, Madagascar pratincole, scaly and short-legged ground rollers, red-breasted coua and elusive Madagascar serpent eagle. From July to early September, humpback whales can be seen offshore in the Bay of Atongil and bottle-nosed dolphins, green turtles and many reef fish all year round.
Optional Activities
Hikes and wildlife spotting in the Masoala National Park. Visits to the local village, snorkelling and boat trips and multi day camping expeditions can also be arranged.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
No. Please contact us for a quote if required.
Flight Info:
If flying from the UK, Ethiopian Airlines has flights from London and Manchester via Addis Ababa. Other flight options include Air France and Kenya Airways
Best Visited:
June to December
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
Claire Pote
Area Specialist
This itinerary can also be combined with other varied regions of Madagascar, such as Andasibe. For those keen to try and see the rare Silky Sifaka, Aye Aye Forest Camp can be combined with Simpona Ecolodge in Makira Natural Park. Suitable for those with an adventurous spirit. Please enquire for more information.
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
We had a great holiday seeing and getting close to more wildlife than we’d imagined. The guides and wildlife guides were excellent and very knowledgeable. The accommodation and food was excellent and we were able to relax given how well everything was planned. Thank you!
