At the center of the 430 km² Tsimanampetsotsa National Park is a large salt lake. The Tsimanampetsotsa National Park is one of nationwide one and a half dozen national parks. These are, together with nature reserves, two marine reserves and half a dozen national parks with special protection status combined to form a total of four dozen nature parks. These protected landscape areas are managed by the ANGAP, the Malagasy Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées. The National Park was founded in the late 1920s, but officially opened as such only in 1966, so a few decades later. The nearest major city is Toliara as the capital of the province of the south, about 90 kilometers south. The distance to the provincial capital Antananarivo is just under 1,000 kilometers. Common means of transport are the off-road passenger car as well as the domestic flight to Toliara.
The special feature of this national park in the southwest of the approximately 590,000 km ² island in the Indian Ocean is the unusual flora and fauna. The lemurs as primates from the group of wet-nose monkeys are represented here with four different types, among them the well-known Kattas. Lemurs live exclusively on Madagascar. Nationwide, about a hundred different species are registered. The rare animals in the park continue to include several dozen different reptiles such as turtles and scaly crawlies. The only Flamingos, unique in the country, have their habitat around the salt lake.
Every visit to the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park inevitably leads to the centrally located salt lake. One of the peculiarities of the lake is that its color changes during the day due to the presence of calcium sulfate and white clay. A well-accessible cave, as well as rather difficult to access bat caves are among the features of this region in the park. Otherwise, the park area is covered with a partially dense, dry thorn forest. As a wetland, the lake is vital for the birds. The visitors enjoy the many baobabs, the African baobab trees as a tropical tree genus. The largest and oldest among them is often referred to as the mother of the forest or grandmother. Plant diversity is unique with its well over a hundred species.
Basically, the visit to Tsimanampetsotsa National Park is a unique tourist adventure. Apart from one, two designated places for camping, the park visitor has to take care of himself.
Highlights
– Salt lake with changing color
– Baobabs
– Turtles
– Flamingos
Equipment
– Trekking shoes or solid sports shoes
– enough liquid
– Sunscreen
Time Duration
Day Tour (2-4 hours)
