The Masoala Peninsula holds Madagascar’s largest remaining tract of lowland rainforest and is a haven of biodiversity and endemism. Accessible only by boat, our Masoala Forest Lodge is a perfect castaway retreat lovingly built over two decades by modern day adventurers Pierre and Maria Bester. It’s seven tented rooms are raised into the tree canopy on timber decks and peep through the lush greenery directly onto the golden beach.
The gentle wash of the ocean on the sheltered beach lulls you to sleep at night, and one day blends into the next here as you reconnect with nature and marvel at the evolutionary miracle that is Madagascar while forgetting that you ever wore shoes.
Location & access
You can reach the Masoala Peninsula in north-eastern Madgascar only by boat. Or on foot. Over several days. That’s the whole point. We like it remote. The closest airport is the frontier coastal town of Maroantsetra and it is to here that we offer scheduled charter flights for our guests on Sundays and Wednesdays for our 3-, 4-, 7-, 10- and 11-night adventure itineraries. At 440km from the national capital at Antananarivo the flight is about 90 minutes over the Malagasy highlands before descending into the Bai d’Antongil and landing at Maroantsetra Airport. All of our scheduled trips to Masoala are met here and taken the 40km by boat to Masoala via the interesting island of Nosy Mangabe (with its tiny Brookesia chameleons, camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos and more).
Reaching the Masoala Peninsula you’ll be hard pressed to see the camp from the sea so hidden is it in the coastal forest. Just the way we like this too.
Why here?
Madagascar’s largest remaining intact rainforest and largest national park
Exceptional biodiversity and endemism with flagship charismatic species like Red Ruffed Lemur, White-fronted Lemur and Helmet Vanga found nowhere else on the island
Pristine private beaches where the rainforest comes down to the sea.
Facilities
Our seven rooms are traditional African safari tents, but in our case raised on stilted decks within the forest canopy and overlooking the beach. The cool breeze off the ocean or through the rainforest acts as natural air conditioning with the tents and their gauze windows oriented for maximum through drafts. Lying in bed and listening to the gentle wash of the ocean on the golden beach below, or the rustling of rainforest leaves cannot help but let you leave the frenetic energy of the city behind.
A central ‘beach house’ is where we serve lunches and dinners and where you’ll find comfortable chairs and a well-stocked natural history library. The ‘sea deck’ overlooks our little bay and is where we serve breakfast and afternoon tea.
What we love about Masoala is the endemism and diversity. The celebrities in this regard are the Red Ruffed Lemur and Helmet Vanga, but there is so much more. Another eight lemur species including the bizarre Aye-aye, mammals like the Lowland Streaked Tenrec and more than 100 bird species including four Ground-Rollers and no fewer than 16 of Madagascar’s 22 Vanga species!
Experiences
We ‘discovered’ the Masoala Peninsula on our kayak expeditions of the late 1990s and kayaking still makes up a large part of the experience here for interested guests. These days though we have a variety of powered boats to get our guests to and from some of the key attractions of the peninsula … the primary rainforest and its Red Ruffed Lemurs and Helmet Vangas, the sacred island of Nosy Ndraindra, the snorkelling of Antalavia and so on. Our guests also sail in our pirogue outrigger, do night walks in our private forest reserve, amble to and around our neighbouring local community and simply laze on the beach or snorkel right in front of camp.
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