Spiny Forest
Madagascar’s alien desert landscape
Twisted, surreal, and surprisingly alive—the Spiny Forest of southern Madagascar is unlike any ecosystem on Earth. Here, daggered octopus trees stretch skyward, baobabs loom like sentinels, and the dry air vibrates with birdsong and lemur calls. It’s a landscape sculpted by extremes, where adaptation has become an artform—and the creatures who call it home are nothing short of astonishing.
The Spiny Forest spans a swath of Madagascar’s arid south, where rainfall is scarce and sunlight is abundant. Unlike the lush eastern rainforests, this ecosystem is defined by drought-resistant flora: spiny euphorbias, fat-trunked baobabs, and succulents that seem plucked from a dreamscape. Despite the harsh conditions, biodiversity here is rich and highly endemic—meaning many of the species found here exist nowhere else on the planet.
Among its most charismatic inhabitants are the ring-tailed lemurs and the delightfully acrobatic Verreaux’s sifakas—known for their sideways, dancing gait across the forest floor. With their white fur and expressive black faces, sifakas appear almost otherworldly as they leap from trunk to trunk or bounce, ballet-like, through the thorny brush. You may also spot spiny tenrecs, colorful chameleons, and the comical long-nosed Labord’s chameleon, which lives a life so brief it hatches, mates, and dies all in a single wet season.
Birders will find the Spiny Forest equally enchanting. Endemic species such as the subdesert mesite, Lafresnaye’s vanga, and the long-tailed ground roller haunt the undergrowth and thorny canopy, making every walk an opportunity for discovery. And when the sun sets, the forest comes alive in a different way—nocturnal geckos, owls, and even the elusive aye-aye may be encountered on a guided night walk.
Reaching the Spiny Forest typically means venturing to remote reserves like Ifaty, Berenty, or Tsimanampetsotsa, often accessed via the coastal town of Tulear. Though rugged, the journey is rewarded with access to some of Madagascar’s most culturally rich regions, where the Antandroy and Mahafaly peoples continue to live in rhythm with the land, crafting intricate tombs and maintaining deep ties to the forest’s spirit.
To walk among the spiny trees is to witness evolution at its most inventive. Every plant, every creature, has carved out a niche in this improbable Eden. And for travelers drawn to rare beauty and resilient life, Madagascar’s Spiny Forest delivers a safari experience as strange, soulful, and spellbinding as the island itself.
