Saint Marie & the East

Madagascar’s East was once a continuous lush green corridor of moist lowland forests extending along the eastern cliff edge with an altitude of up to 800 metres. Under this immense forested canopy, a countless number of species found an ideal habitat. Unfortunately, the fate of this natural balance reversed completely and these forests are now one of the most threatened habitats in the world. A boat trip on the Pangalanes channel shows the coastal line either side of the channel full of single-crop farming plantations: lychee, sunflower, coffee, cacao and of course vanilla.
In July and August humpback whales migrate to Malagasy waters to calve and mate (they don’t feed during that time), so Saint Marie Island is traditionally regarded as one of the more rewarding whale-watching sites.

There are plenty of National Parks to explore such as Analamazaotra Park for a Night Walk near Andasibe, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and Ranomafana.
Ranomafana is a rainforest and spreads over 41,601 hectares in the high altitudes. There are many different forest types, from lowland rainforests to cloud forests and high plateau forests. It was classified a World Natural Heritage site of Atsinanana in 2007.