Menabe Antimena
Harmonious Landscape

About the protected area

Forest, wetland and coast, a landscape of many habitats

The Menabe Antimena Harmonious Landscape is one of Madagascar's Southern Protected Areas, managed by Association Fanamby. Covering 210,310 hectares, it is bounded to the north by the Tsiribihina River, to the east by the Anketrevo savannahs and the Mandroatsy and Bevoay valleys, to the south by the Tandila River and the Andranomena Reserve, and to the west by a coastal strip of dunes. The site is dotted with small lakes and seasonal river pools.

Within its boundaries, the protected area incorporates several notable sites: the Kirindy Forest biological interest site (a 10,000-hectare forestry concession managed by the National Centre for Training, Study and Research in Environment and Forestry — CNFEREF), the Andranomena Special Reserve, and the former Analabe biological interest site (the 12,000-hectare Heaulme concession).

More information on Madagascar's protected areas can be found at maison-de-madagascar.ch.

Infrastructure and Access

From Morondava, through the Avenue of the Baobabs

The protected area is accessible from Morondava. Take the RN35 linking Morondava and Marofototra (11 km), then turn north onto the RN8, which passes through the Avenue of the Baobabs and leads directly to Kirindy Forest. The manager's administrative office and base camp are located at Marofandilia.

Tourist infrastructure includes a welcome post at Marofandilia and the community-managed Camp Amoureux Lodge, situated 4.5 km from the village. The lodge offers 14 bungalows (under large tents) and a restaurant. Two marked circuits from the camp total 2 km — a 1 km daytime circuit and a 1 km night circuit.

The Kirindy Station also provides bungalows, dormitories and a restaurant, with numerous circuits through the site's research plots. At Tsangajoly, the Saline Lodge offers upmarket bungalows, a restaurant, and a swimming pool, with ornithological and forest circuits available.

Local guides recommended by the manager are strongly advised for all visits.

Fauna and Flora

Dry forest, mangrove and wetland, shaped by river and sea

The northern part of the protected area experiences the dry climate of the West, while the southern zone falls under the subarid climate of the South-West. The rainy season runs from November to April. The cool season lasts from June to August, with minimum temperatures of 12.4 °C, and the hot season from December to February brings temperature peaks of 34.4 °C (also recorded in September and November).

Vegetation is shaped by the dry climate, water availability, the dynamics of the Tsiribihina River, and coastal currents. The result is a dense, dry forest cover — thick or open depending on water access — alongside xerophilous thickets in irregular patches across the dunes and sandy deposits. The mangroves are extensive and notably diverse.

Key tree species include Adansonia rubrostipa, Hildegardia, Commiphora, Dalbergia, and Cedrelopsis.

Culture and Heritage

Vezo and Sakalava, forest as sacred ground

The Vezo and the Sakalava of Menabe are the dominant ethnic groups of the zone. The Vezo are primarily a fishing people, while the Sakalava practise agriculture and livestock herding, alongside gathering of forest products and hunting.

The forest holds deep spiritual significance: it serves as a place of burial, ancestor veneration, and a source of wood for coffins. The protected area once sheltered important funerary sites containing various aloalo Vezo — carved wooden funerary posts — though most have unfortunately been looted.