Bursting with Life
Ranomafana’s undergrowth teems with life, evident by the shrill calls of hundreds of bird species and the sound of lemurs chasing one another in the trees. Frogs and insects create an equally loud cacophony at ground level.
Road to Civilization
An old lumbering route cuts its way through Ranomafana valley, the only accessible road through part of the forest. Birds of prey could be seen through the clearing in the trees above.
Evening Colours
The forest and its inhabitants begin to settle down for the night.
Rain on the Way
Clouds seemingly form out of nowhere to shower the forest below with rain.
Birding
A keen birder, Juan scans the tree tops for endemic species. A drongo later caught his attention here.
Evening in a Rainforest
As the calls of indris and cicadas hail the onset of evening, the rainforest descends into a magical array of colors and sounds.
Evening in a Rainforest
Mist Rolling In
Moisture from the surrounding hills collects as wisps of mist to descend upon the lush valleys below. The wet environment is brimming with life.
Hill People
We met several villagers as we crossed from one rural village to another in Madagascar’s mountainous interior.
Happiness in the Hills
These young children were only too happy to crowd around for a group photo in the central highlands of Madagascar.
Wood Cutters
Children earn their living by performing manual jobs in most rural settlements.
Hotely
A dubious, yet colourful place to spend one’s night on the road.
The Barn and the Bicycle
The emptiness of this place struck me. In vintage-photography style, an uncle and his niece in a red coat pick up groceries from the remotest of shops, reachable only by bicycle.
The Farm
Rain approaches a lonely farm on the hills.
Muddy Tracks
Wetlands surround these railway tracks on either side. Trains are solely meant for the transport of goods. The population cannot afford to use them.
Abandoned
A red-clay barn has seen better days. Here it awaits the summer storms to turn it into mud.
Traffic Toys
Children sell toys made out of scrap metal, reflecting the lorries and trucks that drive past on the highway.
Market Streets
A busy market packs up as heavy clouds thunder into view. This street was in Finarantsoa.
Wetlands
Paddy fields dot the landscape in this lowland valley in central Madagascar.
Fountain in the Forest
The flicker of a waterfall announces its presence in the deep green swathes of rainforest that surround it.
Watery Trail
Footprints in the wet mud belong to locals, lemurs, fossas and birds alike.
Quiet River
A sluggish river flows through the primal rainforest, leaving an umber track in its wake.
Sounds of the Forest
The Indri’s haunting call echoes through the leafy forest floor.
School Outing
Back home, a school outing may have been a trip to a historical fort or a museum. In Madagascar, children are taken lemur-spotting in Ranomafana rainforest reserve.
Epiphytes
Small plants grow along the length of larger trees, obtaining all of their nutrients and water from the air around them.
Rainforest Delight
Patches of light filter through the dense canopy above, giving rise to young saplings and palm trees.
Forest Steps
Wooden steps beckon one into the rainforest beyond.
Green Corridors
An abundance of endemic plant and animal life lives within the deepest reaches of this forest.
Journey into the Interior
Some stretches of our rainforest adventure required the use of canoes.
Forest Road
The quietest stretches of forest path are where most fauna is spotted.
Canopy
The foliage was so thick that even with the sun at its fiercest, most of the light was drowned out.
Wooden Walkway
A bridge composed of polished wooden planks hangs limply above a flowing river.
The Path of Rain
Rivers quickly swell up along the limestone valleys of Ambositra, leaving small puddles in their wake, a haven for water-loving insects and reptiles.
Canopy
Light filters through the upper reaches of the forest canopy, bathing the undergrowth in warm light.
Misty Descent
Clouds roll over the mountains that surround Ambositra to the sound of indris and lemurs echoing out of the thick forest.