Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve

Covering 834 square kilometers (322 square miles), this protected area contains limestone pinnacles rising to 328 feet (100 meters), deep canyons, cave systems, and underground watercourses cutting through karst landscapes.

French colonial administration created the protected zone in 1927, followed by UNESCO World Heritage designation for the northern portion in 1990, while administrative reforms granted national park status to the southern section in 1997.

Regional communities use the tsingys as traditional collection sites for medicinal plants and regard the pointed rock formations as sacred places connected to spiritual power, protected by ancestors according to local belief systems.

Access requires traveling from Morondava, located 93 miles (150 kilometers) to the south, or flying from Antananarivo to Antsalova during the dry season between April and November when road conditions permit travel.

This protected territory supports 457 plant species alongside 94 bird species and 42 mammal species, including eleven lemur varieties found exclusively on the island and nowhere else on Earth.

Location: Mahajanga

Inception: 1991

Website: http://tsingy-madagascar.com

GPS coordinates: -18.66667,44.75000

Latest update: November 27, 2025 20:56