Berenty Reserve

Berenty Reserve is a protected area in southern Toliara Province with gallery forests along the Mandrare River and expansive spiny forest habitats filled with endemic plants and animals. A network of walking trails connects different forest zones and provides access to varied woodland ecosystems.

The reserve was established in the 1980s and quickly became a primary research location for studying lemur behavior and ecological patterns in Madagascar's southern dry zone. Its creation helped document this often-overlooked region scientifically.

The site serves researchers as a field station where they document and observe the behaviors of ring-tailed lemurs and other species in their natural setting. Visitors can witness this work firsthand and learn about the ecological characteristics of this region.

The reserve is reachable by car in about two hours from Fort Dauphin, with simple wooden lodges providing accommodation directly within the forest. A visit works best when you spend several days on site to explore the different trails more thoroughly.

The site holds plants with extreme thorn coverage, particularly the alluadia species with its tall spiky trunks perfectly adapted to the region's aridity. This unusual vegetation makes it one of the few places where you can observe such specialized survival mechanisms in nature.