Southern Madagascar
Berenty Lodge
Established in 1937 as one of the first nature reserves in Madagascar, Berenty is not for everyone, but for the right people it is much appreciated and enjoyed. Accommodation is fairly basic and service is in need of attention but Berenty provides easy walking along well tended, level and wide trails in shady riverine gallery forest and patches of spiny forest where habituated lemurs and other wildlife can easily be seen. It is suitable for families with young children, those with mobility problems and those who relish tame “wilderness” in which plenty of habituated wildlife can be seen.
The lodge and land are owned by the locally powerful de Heaulme family, who developed the extensive, surrounding sisal plantations and owns some hotels in Fort Dauphin, including the Croix du Sud and Le Dauphin.
Facilities
13 bungalows and 12 rooms. Snack bar, restaurant, Antandroy tribal museum, nearby sisal factory
Local Wildlife
Ring-tailed, red-fronted brown, collared brown, white-footed sportive, grey mouse and Verreux’s sifaka lemurs can all be seen quite easily at Berenty. There are also many bird species such as giant coua, souimanga sunbird and hook-billed vanga, and reptiles including radiated tortoise and Oustelet’s chameleon.
Optional Activities
Walking in the private reserve on wide, well-marked trails and within the patches of spiny forest, either independently or with a guide. Guided nocturnal nature walks.
Alan Godwin
Area Specialist
Berenty is accessible year round: it’s best for baby lemurs in September and October, and for reptiles from December to March. Electricity goes off at 11pm, so take a head torch for night reading. Berenty is very suitable for young children, with safe trails and no dangerous wildlife. Babysitting is not officially offered but may be arranged with the management on request.
If you have any questions regarding our Madagascar tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
Having recently returned from a truly memorable 3 weeks in Madagascar we wanted to express our sincerest thanks to you Helen, and all at Reef and Rainforest for arranging such a superb wildlife viewing experience.
As you are aware, we were particularly keen to see and photograph the fosa. At Kirindy forest we actually encountered 3. Despite the rather challenging accommodation we would highly recommend the Kirindy experience to all those wanting an exceptional primate viewing experience.
Overall our lemur species/subspecies count was 22 and other notable sightings included 2 species of mongoose, giant jumping rats, a huge Madagascar ground boa, humpback whales and the Madagascar fish eagle.
Every detail of the trip from start to finish was superbly well arranged and managed, which cannot be easy in a country with such complex problems. Well done Helen.
All aspects of the trip were outstanding. Wildlife, people, culture and geography. We will certainly return again to visit the north of the island and return to paradise, Anjajavy.
This was our second trip with Reef and Rainforest and I cannot speak highly enough of your company. I would recommend your services to any natural world/wildlife enthusiast. Thank you again.