Farafangana: Discover the Treasures of the Manombo Reserve

So much Malagasy diversity! In the Manombo reserve, a site located 2km from the city of Farafangana, you can watch endemic lemurs such as the "Eulemur Albocallaris" or the "Varicia Variegata" or even 32 species of ants, snails and birds.

 

This very peaceful environment, with its rich vegetation, provides a habitat for all these animals.

 

In this reserve, the eye is immediately attracted by the "Humbertia Madagascariens", a tree more than a hundred years old. The wonders of Manombo Park are also reflected in the beautiful orchids, blooming from June to August. An extraordinary panorama awaits nature lovers, which extends to the beach on the horizon.

 

With a total area of 5320 ha, the particularity of this Special Reserve is based mainly in its rate of endemicity of 90% for plant species to name only the Hintsy or Intsia bijuga. Also called "iron tree", it can reach 10 to 20 meters high. Easily recognizable by its whitish bark, this species has remarkable durability. Its bark and leaves are used in traditional medicine, against rheumatism and diarrhea.

 

Manombo is also the only known habitat of a very endangered amphibian species: Mantella Bernhardi. It is a tiny, multicolored atrachian with a greyish brown back, black flanks and the inner side of the orange limbs.

To which must be added the whales that pass offshore, a spectacle that is always exceptional. Rivers flow through the park for the discovery of crocodiles and freshwater fish by pirogue. In Farafangana, three ethnic groups live, the Antefasy, Zafizoro and Rabakara. The mixture of their cultures is what characterizes this city, 400km from the capital.