Analamazaotra is where you meet the indri. Family groups are habituated and located by trackers each morning, and their song — a wailing, whale-like chorus that carries for kilometres — is the defining sound of Malagasy rainforest. Groups usually call in the early morning, so start at first light.

Mantadia, higher and less disturbed, holds the species Analamazaotra has lost: diademed sifaka, black-and-white ruffed lemur, and a longer bird list including the pitta-like ground-roller and other Malagasy endemics that birders come specifically for.

The night walks along the roads and reserve edges are essential. Mouse lemurs, woolly lemurs, chameleons asleep on branches at eye level, and leaf-tailed geckos are all far easier at night — note that walks are conducted outside the park boundary, since night access to the park itself is restricted.

Vakona and the smaller private reserves nearby offer close encounters with introduced lemurs on an island; be aware these are essentially managed animals rather than wild ones, and treat them differently from the park.

September to December is the best window — indri calling actively, reptiles and frogs emerging, and less rain than the cyclone months.

Practicalities

Andasibe is around three to four hours by road east from Antananarivo, which makes it the easiest national park in Madagascar to reach and a common first or last stop.

A local guide is compulsory and is booked at the park office; ask specifically for one strong on birds or on herps if that is your interest, as specialisms vary widely. Rain is likely in any month — this is rainforest, and leeches appear after wet weather.