Isalo National Park – 2 November.
We drove to Isalo from 7.30am (we couldn’t wait to get there !) and had to have a guide with us, as it was compulsory. We first thought that a guide really should be optional but it does give jobs to the local people and they do find insects for you that you would never find with your untrained eye, so they are actually quite valuable.
The first trek we did was to the Canyon des Makis. It took 45mins to walk from the car park to the entrance and it did look quite barren on the way but it was a whole different world once you stepped it. It totally blew me away. It was nothing like I had expected: pretty crystal clear streams, lots of lush aquatic plants... A true oasis.... and I was... well, spell-bound is the word. It was so, so beautifully lush and so different from any trek I’d ever done before, climbing over rocks (with steps cut into them)... No handrail anywhere though, so, not very safe for anyone with balance problems. Good shoes were needed too, with a good grip. We stayed till 11am and walked as far we could go without ropes. In fact, most people stopped half way and turned round (big groups with older people couldn’t do this for instance, or they only had half a day) but we could have gone on & on & on... Every few meters was different and spectacular. I was really sad when we had to leave. Everybody doing this canyon should allow at least 3 to 4 hours to make the most of it and take lots of pictures.
There was a beautiful stream with a large area in the middle where people would go in knee deep to refresh their feet but we were asked not to swim in it as the local people depended on the water for their drinking needs. A bit frustrating but then, it looked much prettier for pictures with no one in it.
We then headed towards the Canyon des Rats (though, I haste to add, they are long gone) but we couldn’t go very far in that one and not reach its famous waterfall with seemingly black waters because a fire had burned ¾ of the path to access it and it was sealed off for safety reason. We found a cool natural pool where we could go for a refreshing dip but we couldn’t really venture out much further, sadly. We did have our picnic there though as it was so quiet with no one else around – except for a few local kids who knew our guide and had followed us. Nice kids though. Didn’t beg for money or anything, just happy to ‘tag along’. They all had ’10 brothers & sisters’ which never ceased to amaze me. We saw some beautiful insects there. We didn’t, however, see any of the famous lemurs that are usually found at the entrance of the canyons... We were told that it’s because they couldn’t get used to the sound of the helicopters and were scared off.
It was a 45mins drive to the car park and it was very scenic all the way. A truly gorgeous morning, very rewarding visually.
However, the afternoon was also pretty amazing, in a competely different way. We had to drive an hour to get to the beginning of the trek for the Piscine Naturelle (3kms long to get there). But the journey was as beautiful as the destination as we hiked through weird rock formations that looked a bit like the ones found in NW Australia – with distinctive stripes on the rocks to denote the different sedaments and geological eras. It wasn’t as spectacular as the Grand Canyon but it was pretty neat for Madagascar’s scale.
The pool was another little oasis with a lot of ferns and palms but as it was very popular there were about 25 people sitting by the edge of it and having enjoyed peace & quiet most of the morning, it suddenly felt very over-crowded. However, I just had to go in! The water was fairly warm because it is fed by some hot springs nearby. It would have been crystal clear too except for the fact that as soon as someone goes in they will stir up the white sand with their feet. It’s not a very big pool but I found it quite pleasant. However, not as special as the hike in the Canyon des Makis (that hike was top of my list for the whole trip).
The recommended circuit is normally Namaza (it has several cascading pools) but as I said earlier, access had been closed due to the fire just last month. SO frustrating.
Isalo was probably our favourite day in the whole trip, Roberto was gutted to have to move on so soon and would have loved to hike for 5 days but we were told that the longer hikes are quite difficult and people have to set up tents for you, etc. it’s not always easy to find a guide for 5 days either.
We drove to Isalo from 7.30am (we couldn’t wait to get there !) and had to have a guide with us, as it was compulsory. We first thought that a guide really should be optional but it does give jobs to the local people and they do find insects for you that you would never find with your untrained eye, so they are actually quite valuable.
The first trek we did was to the Canyon des Makis. It took 45mins to walk from the car park to the entrance and it did look quite barren on the way but it was a whole different world once you stepped it. It totally blew me away. It was nothing like I had expected: pretty crystal clear streams, lots of lush aquatic plants... A true oasis.... and I was... well, spell-bound is the word. It was so, so beautifully lush and so different from any trek I’d ever done before, climbing over rocks (with steps cut into them)... No handrail anywhere though, so, not very safe for anyone with balance problems. Good shoes were needed too, with a good grip. We stayed till 11am and walked as far we could go without ropes. In fact, most people stopped half way and turned round (big groups with older people couldn’t do this for instance, or they only had half a day) but we could have gone on & on & on... Every few meters was different and spectacular. I was really sad when we had to leave. Everybody doing this canyon should allow at least 3 to 4 hours to make the most of it and take lots of pictures.
There was a beautiful stream with a large area in the middle where people would go in knee deep to refresh their feet but we were asked not to swim in it as the local people depended on the water for their drinking needs. A bit frustrating but then, it looked much prettier for pictures with no one in it.
We then headed towards the Canyon des Rats (though, I haste to add, they are long gone) but we couldn’t go very far in that one and not reach its famous waterfall with seemingly black waters because a fire had burned ¾ of the path to access it and it was sealed off for safety reason. We found a cool natural pool where we could go for a refreshing dip but we couldn’t really venture out much further, sadly. We did have our picnic there though as it was so quiet with no one else around – except for a few local kids who knew our guide and had followed us. Nice kids though. Didn’t beg for money or anything, just happy to ‘tag along’. They all had ’10 brothers & sisters’ which never ceased to amaze me. We saw some beautiful insects there. We didn’t, however, see any of the famous lemurs that are usually found at the entrance of the canyons... We were told that it’s because they couldn’t get used to the sound of the helicopters and were scared off.
It was a 45mins drive to the car park and it was very scenic all the way. A truly gorgeous morning, very rewarding visually.
However, the afternoon was also pretty amazing, in a competely different way. We had to drive an hour to get to the beginning of the trek for the Piscine Naturelle (3kms long to get there). But the journey was as beautiful as the destination as we hiked through weird rock formations that looked a bit like the ones found in NW Australia – with distinctive stripes on the rocks to denote the different sedaments and geological eras. It wasn’t as spectacular as the Grand Canyon but it was pretty neat for Madagascar’s scale.
The pool was another little oasis with a lot of ferns and palms but as it was very popular there were about 25 people sitting by the edge of it and having enjoyed peace & quiet most of the morning, it suddenly felt very over-crowded. However, I just had to go in! The water was fairly warm because it is fed by some hot springs nearby. It would have been crystal clear too except for the fact that as soon as someone goes in they will stir up the white sand with their feet. It’s not a very big pool but I found it quite pleasant. However, not as special as the hike in the Canyon des Makis (that hike was top of my list for the whole trip).
The recommended circuit is normally Namaza (it has several cascading pools) but as I said earlier, access had been closed due to the fire just last month. SO frustrating.
Isalo was probably our favourite day in the whole trip, Roberto was gutted to have to move on so soon and would have loved to hike for 5 days but we were told that the longer hikes are quite difficult and people have to set up tents for you, etc. it’s not always easy to find a guide for 5 days either.
posted by Sylvie at 9:50 PM
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