Berenty Reserve is located in the Southern part of Madagascar and prominently known to inhabit the unique lemurs. The park is one of the popular safari destinations in Madagascar. The Lemur troops in the reserve are fond of dancing and sauntering with tails in the air. Other than the Lemurs, travelers can watch the Sifaka dancing over the ground or riccocheting between thorn-studded trees.
The reserve comprises of closed canopy gallery forest of ancient tamarind trees, drier open scrub and the surreal “spiny forest” of southern Madagascar. There are more than six species of lemur, the south’s largest colony of Madagascar fruit bats and 103 bird species, 56 of which breed in the reserve.
Other than the lemurs, the park is known to have diverse cultures and societies which are exceptional to engage in. There are dense natural lemur populations with several hundred of each species per square kilometer.
Flora and Fauna
Most of the faunal species inhabit the region around the spiny forest known to have year around water making lemurs, thousands of fruit bats prefer this region of the park. Other than these, the reserve also includes predators like the harrier hawk, Polyboroides radiata, the Madagascar buzzard, Buteo brachypterus. There are also smaller reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.
Flora in the park varies between two adjacent forest types i.e the Gallery Forest and the Spiny Forest. The Gallery Forest consists of tamarinds, Tamarindus indica, or in Malagasy, kily, Emergent Acacia rovumae which reaches 30 meters in height. These are referred to as benono and are bushy crowned and evergreen through out the year.
Other than the gallery forest, there is the spiny forest which includes Didiereacea and Euphorbiacea and these comprise of various swollen stems, roots and trunks for storing water. Their leaves are adapted to avoid too much sun which falls on them vertically at midday. During the dry season, many plants dont have leaves hence the forest never has shade.
Things to do in Berenty Reserve
Being among Madagascar’s famous wildlife reserves, Berenty Reserve is situated along the banks of the River Mandrare. The things to do in the reserve include;
Wildlife watching
The reserve is exceptional for wildlife watching as you get a chance to watch troupes of ring-tailed lemurs race along the dappled pathways, happily fearless of the travelers. Other than the Lemurs, you can watch the Verreaux’s sifakas as they leap from one tree to another as the usually descend to earth to triple jump, arms raised high, across the sand.
The reserve also has the Red-fronted brown lemurs which can be seen eating fruit and leaves. Bird watching is exceptional even without binoculars. On your bird watching adventure, you view bird species like the giant couas, paradise flycatchers.
Night walks
Night walks are exceptional to do in the reserve within the Spiny Forest. The night walks include you transferring through the forest as the moon light filters through twisted fingers of euphorbia and octopus trees requiring you to move from one point to the next with a powerful torch (brought by you as these are hard to find in Madagascar) watching Lemurs. You shall catch the eyes of curious Lemurs, flashes of green against the inky night, Mouse Lemurs which are usually so active flickering fast up and down silhouetted trees. These can be located following their eerie call.
Best Time to Visit Berenty Reserve
Berenty Reserve in Madagascar can be visited anytime around the year although the Best Time to visit the Park is during the dry season in the months of April to October. During this time, the weather is okay with less humidity and rain making it perfect for wildlife viewing and hiking.
April is very awesome as it gives you a chance to watch stink fighting i.e a ritual where ring-tailed lemurs compete for mates by using scent.
However, travelers can visit the reserve for safaris even during the wettest months of (December to March) where they can hike along the short and easy trails watching lemurs.
When to Visit Berenty Reserve
Berenty Reserve in Madagascar can be accessed as you fly to Taolagnaro (Fort Dauphin) where you leave and drive for a period of 2-3 hours to the reserve. Berenty reserve lies about 90km/55mi west of Taolagnaro. Alternatively, some visitors with domestic planes can use the reserve’s private airstrip.
