Ifaty

The area in and around Ifaty looks forward to over 300 days of sunshine every year and as a result, there are several excellent hotels situated along the beach.

Ifaty is a great place for water activities. It is easy to arrange snorkelling and diving experiences with your hotel, or even fishing trips with local fishermen on their traditional fishing boats, called pirogues.

The other main attraction of Ifaty is the spiny forest, which is a unique habitat to Madagascar, specifically adapted to the heat and drought of the country. It is a forest that birders will find particularly rewarding.

The best time to see local species is in the early morning. Hopefully you’ll be able to spot a long tailed ground roller or a sub desert mesite. You might also see a variety of reptiles or the nocturnal lemurs asleep in the trees, such as the white foot sportive.

There are three pockets of private forest in the Ifaty area. Moussa Forest is the smallest, next to the Village des Tortues, which runs a breading and conservation programme for endangered tortoises and turtles.

It is an important area for tourists to visit, as it is not only one of the few places you can see the remaining spiny forest of Madagascar, but it also actively contributes to the forest’s conservation.