Isalo National Park is located in southern Madagascar on the RN7 heading towards Tulear. The park is well known for its sandstone formations and large canyons. The terrain ranges from rocky cliffs, to beautiful pandanus lined streams and vast dry grasslands. The scenery here was spectacular.
We stayed in a small village called Ranohira located just a few kilometres from the national park. We stayed in a nice relaxed place known as Chez Alice with views of the massif. On our arrival we made contact with a guide named Parson who works with WWF and once worked as a park ranger in Isalo. He was an amazing person and guide. He shared with us many stories about the local Bara people and history of the area. The Bara are traditionally nomadic people that have an unsurpassed fascination with zebu (cattle). If a young man wishes to marry he must first steal zebu to prove that he is worthy of the union. This tradition has almost died out but some remote villages still practice the old customs. He told us many interesting stories like this one about the history of the area mixed in with typically terrible “Dad” jokes.
We spent two full days hiking with Parson within the park. The park entrance and guide fees were the most expensive that we had experienced of National Parks in Madagascar. The first day we saw a huge spectacular canyon, catta lemurs, burial sites, grasslands and a hidden oasis. We had walked for almost 20km before reaching the main road back into Ranohira. Still 9km from town and decided it would be best for us to hitch a ride with someone. Within a few minutes a vehicle came along the road which we tried to hail down. It turned out to be the local police chief! He was happy to take us back into town.
The next day we had a shorter 17km walk. We saw another spectacular canyon into which we walked and followed a stream into the upper reaches. We bathed in a very cool natural pool with a couple of snakes. The wildlife was not visibly abundant in Isalo but the landscape and scenery easily made up for this. Not surprisingly this is the second most visited national park in Madagascar.
