Ankarafantsika was one of my biggest surprises in Madagascar. I thought it would be a nice stop between Tana and Nosy Be, but it turned out to be one of my favorite national parks because there are some lovely lemur species and an impressive canyon. Moreover, you have a lake with nile crocodiles and fantastic people. It is unbelievable that it has not been discovered by big tourism yet, but this should be a place to visit, so keep reading.

Price: 55,000 ariary for park entry, and depending on the hike, the amount is between 55,000 and 90,000 ariary per hike.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: A 8-10 hour drive north from Antananarivo.

How much time needed:  1-2 Days

Hiking trails

Ankarafantsika has a couple of hiking trails, as stated above. The 2 most common ones to do are the one around the lake and a combination of the Coquerel's Circuit and the Canyon Circuit. This is doable in one day.

Around the lake

This is a hike for around 2 hours, and it is very easy as you just walk around a pretty big lake with many crocodiles. Besides, you can also find 2 baobabs, which are very high. In the lake are around 70-80 nile crocodiles, but it is not guaranteed that you will see them, as there are a lot of places where they can hide. You can also find some mongoose lemurs. There is some shade here, but it can still be very warm.

Coquerel's Circuit & Canyon Circuit

This is the most important hike to do, as it is the best route to find wildlife, and you will find the beautiful canyon (see picture). First, you are in Coquerel's Circuit, and here you walk on an easy path in a dry forest but filled with lemurs. On the day hike, I saw Coquerel's sifakas, Milne Edward's sportive lemur, Eastern woolly lemurs, and common brown lemurs. They are all pretty common to see during the day (even though some are nocturnal). At some point, you come to a savannah like the Serengeti, except that the elephants are missing.. After a walk of about 20 minutes, you will see the incredible canyon (see picture). You cannot enter the canyon after a staircase collapsed a couple of years ago. Afterwards, you walk back through the same savannah, and then you come back on the Coquerel's Circuit, where you can find wildlife again. The whole trail will take around 4 hours. 

Pricing

I am sorry the picture is not clear, but the prices are above. It is 55,000 ariary for park entry, and depending on the hike, the amount is between 55,000 and 90,000 ariary per hike. The hikes are absolutely worth the money. 

Night hikes

Besides the day hikes, the night hikes are fantastic here, and you can see 4 lemur species that are active.  I also saw a nice Coquerel's sifaka (which is diurnal). You walk on an easy trail, and you can find them with a good torch. You can also find some spiders, chameleons, and other reptiles during the hikes at night. The trail is outside the park entrance.

Lemurs

Although I already named some of them, there are 8 species of lemurs present in Ankarafantsika. The 3 diurnal species are Coquerel's sifakas, common brown lemurs, and mongoose lemurs. The nocturnal species are the fat-tailed dwarf lemur, the golden-brown mouse lemur, the grey mouse lemur, the Eastern woolly lemur (see picture; I know it is tough, but there are 3) and the Milne Edward's sportive lemur. The latter two can also be seen during the day. I saw 7 out of 8 of this species during one full day of hikes. I only missed the mongoose lemurs, but it is possible. Most lemurs can be seen, but none are guaranteed. 

Snakes

When in Madagascar, it is very likely that you will come across some of the species of snakes the island has, but Ankarafantsika has just a few more. Because of the high temperature, there are many snakes active, so you are likely to find some of the species of hognose snakes (the giant hognose snake above) or other species. They can hurt, but they are not dangerous for humans, so don't worry. The best time to see them is during the warmer months.

When to go

Even though Ankarafantsika is a year-round destination, the park gets extremely hot between January  and March. Reptiles are better visible in the hotter months, which makes November and December the best months to visit, as they are hotter but not extremely hot. The park is not busy throughout the year, so you won't be bothered by many other tourists.

Temperature

I have mentioned it a few times already, but this region experiences extreme heat, making hikes particularly challenging during the day. It is crucial that you bring an ample supply of water and wear a cap or hat to protect yourself from the intense heat, especially from November to March.

Where to sleep

Because the park is not very popular, most people (as did I) stay in the bungalows at the ticket office of the park, where you also have a nice restaurant. This is very convenient to have everything in one place. The bungalows are nice but can be warm at night. In the area of the place, you can find common brown lemurs and Coquerel's sifakas (see picture), which happened a lot because of a big fig tree. 

In combination with..

The most difficult part of Ankarafantsika is that it is very secluded, as the drive is 8 to 10 hours from Antananarivo and there are not a lot of other sights on the way. For me, it was perfect to do this park and head further to Nosy Be (a far drive still). For the rest, it is difficult to get here.

How much time+ itinerary

For me, the best amount of time to stay here is 2 nights, so you have one full day to do a lot of hiking. On the day of arrival and departure, you probably have to drive a lot, so do the most in one full day. The day should look like this (my recommendation).

Breakfast, Coquerel's Circuit + Canyon Circuit, Lunch and relax, Lake hike, rest, night hike, dinner. 

I would recommend doing the Coquerel's and Canyon hikes earlier than the lake hike because you skip the bigger heath of the afternoon and have more chances of seeing active wildlife.

Final thoughts

Ankarafantsika is not the most popular national park, but it should be more popular because it has a fantastic canyon and is a park where lemurs are easily found. Besides, there are some snakes to find and maybe even some crocodiles in the lake. There are some different ecosystems, which makes it an even more interesting destination. Unfortunately, it is far from other sights, but if you have time, please visit this fantastic national park.

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