Parc National d’Andasibe-Mantadia is an ideal place to see lemurs in the wild for those who have little time to travel around Madagascar or prefer not to fly. Located just a three-hour drive from Antananarivo, the park offers the usual good standard of ANGAP guiding and there are several pathways one can follow for an easy walk, while the more adventurous can go ’off-road’ and scramble through the undergrowth to view the several species of lemur found here, including the indri. The park also has a visitor center with an interactive display about lemurs which is excellent for children.
Vakona Forest Lodge is located close to the national park in its own small reserve. The lodge offers simple clean rooms with en-suite facilities and showers. The food is good and mainly French in style and the restaurant area has an outdoor terrace surrounded by a small lake.
For really close-up lemur viewing the lodge has its own ’Lemur Island’ where you can feed the friendly creatures as they jump on your shoulders. There is also a crocodile farm and a menagerie of birds and reptiles.
