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Mantadia National Park, Andasibe, Madagascar

After a full day of touring the Analamazaotra and Mitsinjo Reserves the day prior, and a good night’s rest at the Vakona Forest Lodge, I was ready to visit the much larger Mantadia National Park. Mantadia National Park and the Analamazaotra Reserve were once one large entity many years ago. Sadly, private logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have since divided the two. The 45-minute drive from the Vakona Forest Lodge to the park entrance gives you plenty of opportunity to see the level of deforestation still going on. This includes the Mantadia National Park as well.

Mantadia National Park DeforestationMantadia National Park Deforestation

Thanks to a beat-up dirt road and more than a few difficult treks, the number of tourist that visit Mantadia National Park is quite small compared to the busier reserves around Andasibe. You can’t get a tour bus to the park entrance. Selfishly, I find that a good thing.

Mantadia National Park Entry

Mantadia National Park is a 60-square-mile protected area that offers a much wider variety of options for trekking circuits than do the Analamazaotra or Mitsinjo Reserves. The shorter routes will take you only a few hours to finish. You can also hike a master route that would cover all the trails and would take most hikers an entire day.

Mantadia National Park Trek Options

Anicet, my driver for the month (left), and my local guide Ranaivomanana (right) pose in front of the starting point of the route I chose. I was told the longer “Circuit Trekking” had the most palms trees, hence my choice.

Mantadia National Park Circuit Trek Sign

The Circuit Trek has some elevation gain to it, with most happening right at the beginning, as you can see from my Strava data below. The trails here were not as wide or well maintained as the ones I hiked in the Analamazaotra and Mitsinjo Reserves, which was perfectly fine by me.

Mantadia ReserveMantadia National Park Trekking TrailMantadia National Park Trekking Trail

After a mile and 500 feet of elevation gain, you arrive at the first rest stop. The view from this small peak is spectacular and you get a good idea just how large the Mantadia National Park really is. While resting, off in the distance you could hear the calling of the Indri Lemur.

Mantadia National Park Circuit Trek OverlookMantadia National Park Circuit Trek View

I still had a ways to go, but not far after passing this sign I ran into one of the biggest surprises on my entire trip through Madagascar.

Mantadia National Park Circuit Trek Distance Sign

Around 1,900 meters into the hike you will find this beauty if you have a good eye. This is Dypsis ‘Black Stem.’

Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National ParkDypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National ParkDypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National Park

This was a very exciting find because the Dypsis ‘Black Stem’ that are cultivated at the Vakona Forest Lodge are quite famous palm trees to collectors around the world. While I know many hikers have passed these palms doing this trek, I doubt many were palm collectors and most likely had no idea what they were looking at. There has been a question amongst collectors as to where those cultivated palms came from at the Vakona Lodge. Most figured, correctly, that they had to come from the surrounding rainforest; the issue was that no one has documented Dypsis ‘Black Stem’ in habitat at Mantadia National Park before. Thanks to prior documentation of this palm in habitat at the Maromizaha Reserve, I knew that I would see it the following day. Seeing it in situ on this hike was a huge surprise. Especially considering the Maromizaha Reserve is some distance away from this locale.

While hiking the Circuit Trek , I would only find Dypsis ‘Black Stem’ in one area. It was not widespread, being found for about 200 meters of the total 5.5-mile trek.

Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National ParkDypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National Park

By looking closely at flowers, botanists have confirmed that the palm collectors call Dypsis ‘Black Stem’ is really just a beautiful form of Dypsis baronii—a widespread and variable palm found throughout most rainforests in Madagascar.

Flowering Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National ParkFlowering Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National Park

Along with a few old adults, I found a lot of juvenile plants growing not far off the path. Below you can see another unique characteristic of this beautiful form of Dypsis baronii—the snow-white emerging spear on juvenile plants.

Juvenile Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National ParkJuvenile Dypsis 'Black Stem' at Mantadia National Park

The towering juvenile leaves of Ravenea robustior are a staple around Andasibe. Without scale it is hard to comprehend, but these leaves below can reach 30 feet in height.

Ravenea robustior at Mantadia National ParkRavenea robustior at Mantadia National Park

The 18-55 mm travel lens I brought with me made it difficult to get a good photograph of this marvelous Ravenea robustior. 

Ravenea robustior at Mantadia National Park

Ravenea madagascariensis was another abundant palm found throughout Mantadia National Park.

Ravenea madagascariensis at Mantadia National ParkRavenea madagascariensis at Mantadia National ParkRavenea madagascariensis at Mantadia National Park

A confusing palm to botanists is Ravenea latisecta—a palm only described from Andasibe. Part of the problem is that recently no palm botanists have put the time into studying this species. They believe the population has not been located in the wild since 1992. Having seen Ravenea madagascariensis around Andasibe and comparing it to the wide leaves of the palm pictured below makes me believe the photo is that of Ravenea latisecta. This palm was much larger than Ravenea madagascariensis of the same age, and the leaflets appeared to be twice as wide. It is a very attractive Ravenea.

Ravenea latisecta at Mantadia National Park

After a steep decent down the hill as we make our way to the “Chute Sacree,” we saw our first Dypsis utilis. This species is a true water-loving palm and won’t be found growing far from a permanent water source like the creek in the photo below.

Stream with Pandanus at Mantadia National Park

Dypsis utilis is very similar to another Vonitra palm also found growing around Andasibe—Dypsis fibrosa. Dypsis utilis is a larger palm, and without a flower couldn’t be identified from Dypsis fibrosa past its size. Both are known for their dichotomous branching.

Dypsis utilis at Mantadia National ParkDypsis utilis at Mantadia National Park

I found two very unique and attractive Dypsis growing on the hike. The first was what I can only guess was Dypsis pilulifera. It was unlike any of the Dypsis pilulifera I would find through the various treks I made in the Andasibe region, however.

Dypsis pilulifera at Mantadia National ParkDypsis pilulifera at Mantadia National Park

I found this same exact palm shown below growing in the Analamazaotra Reserve. The colorful petioles are a dead give away. It feels closely related to Dypsis ‘Orange Crush,’ but for now will just have to be labeled an unknown. I am pretty sure it is the same palm sold in cultivation as Dypsis malcomberi by a local Southern California nursery, JD Andersen’s. Sadly, I couldn’t find any adult specimens of this palm in habitat.

Unknown Dypsis at Mantadia National Park

Dypsis louvelii was one of the more attractive understory palms I would see around Andasibe.

Dypsis louvelii at Mantadia National Park

The average annual precipitation of 67 inches, which falls 210 days a year, makes Andasibe-Mantadia National Park a rainforest.

Mantadia National Park RainforestStream at Mantadia National Park

Pandanus both large and small were a common sight.

Mottled Pandanus at Mantadia National ParkUnknown Pandanus at Mantadia National Park

An unknown tree fern (Cyathea).

Tree Fern (Cyathea) at Mantadia National Park

This small Bird’s Nest Fern was one of my favorite anthirums. I only saw it a few times during my trip but enjoyed its thick, coarse leaves when I did.

Bird's Nest Fern at Mantadia National Park

In a jungle full of green, this unknown flowering vine stood out.

Unknown Flowering Vine at Mantadia National Park

Madagascar has so many amazing orchids. Unfortunately I was visiting at the wrong time of year to see them in flower.

Unknown Orchid at Mantadia National Park

While I heard the Indri Lemur’s call, I unfortunately never saw any lemurs on this trek. I did see a few interesting animals like this colorful Lined Day Gecko (Phelsuma lineata).

Madagascar Day Gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis madagascariensis)Unknown Beetle at Mantadia National Park

This is a Giant Pill Millipede (Globotherium neptunium). It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is at least five times bigger than our local Roly Polies.

Giant Pill Millipede (Globotherium neptunus)

The main landscape attraction that draws people to trek in Mantadia National Park is the “Chute Sacree.” “Sacred Fall,” as it is called in English, served as our lunch stop for the day. Most times this is a crowded location and you can usually find tourists swimming in the refreshingly cool water. That day my guide and I had the place to ourselves. In fact, we had the whole national park to ourselves. We never saw another tourist the entire day. How many people that visit Mantadia National Park can say that?

Natural Pool at Mantadia National Park

Related posts:

  1. IPS Annual Board Meeting on Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar
  2. Maromizaha Reserve, Andasibe, Madagascar
  3. Analamazaotra and Mitsinjo Reserves, Andasibe, Madagascar
  4. Antoetra and Ambositra, Madagascar

Tagged: Dypsis, Madagascar, Palm Trees, Tropical Plants, Wildlife

November 5, 2015

Comments

  1. Ana Bowers says

    December 29, 2015 at 11:18 AM

    Amazing photos and documentary! Thanks so much for making this available to us, Len.

    Reply
    • Len Geiger says

      December 29, 2015 at 11:27 AM

      Thanks Ana. Photography is certainly work in progress. You have it down. By the way, congrats on your FB page. That thing has taken off!

      Reply
  2. Hosting says

    January 10, 2017 at 4:57 AM

    To address the disappearing habitat threat, reserves have been created in the vicinity of Andasibe-Mantadia that balance resource extraction with environmental protection, and attempt to create economic and environmentally preferable alternatives to replacing native forests with eucalyptus and pine.

    Reply
  3. Christophe Quénel says

    November 5, 2022 at 4:38 AM

    Hi Len,
    The picture “mantadia-national-park-unknown-flowering-vine” is Strongylodon madagascariensis

    Reply

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You may also like

  1. IPS Annual Board Meeting on Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar
  2. Maromizaha Reserve, Andasibe, Madagascar
  3. Analamazaotra and Mitsinjo Reserves, Andasibe, Madagascar
  4. Antoetra and Ambositra, Madagascar

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