What to do and Where to Stay in Southern Madagascar

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Toliara (once known in French as Tulear) is the gateway to Southern and Southwestern Madagascar. It’s where the flights arrive, the jumping off point for beaches and Isalo, but also a rather characterful spot in its own right. It’d be fair to say that we aren’t typically planning days on end here, but being stuck in the characterful jam of roadside stalls, bicycle taxis and palm trees for a night or two is a rather pleasant place to be.

Further inland is Isalo National Park. We can date the moment we fell in love with Madagascar to our first visit to Isalo. This extraordinary rockscape is rich in geology, nature and history. There’s incredible hiking, golden grasses fluttering with giant dragonflies, and gorgeous natural pools as a reward for your trek. In the canyons look out for lemurs- sifakas, brown lemurs and naughty-looking ringtails. Isalo is also a sacred place for the Bara tribe and there are many burial sites up in the rocks. There are hugely culturally significant (and your guide will tell you the many amazing and wonderful traditions around this if you are interested), but it is very important not to point at the tombs.