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Madagascar
An island that broke away long enough ago that nine in ten of its species live nowhere else — and roads slow enough that you must choose one region.
The island that
evolved on its own
Madagascar separated from the other landmasses long enough ago that its wildlife took a different path entirely. Roughly nine in ten of its species exist nowhere else on Earth. Every lemur species is endemic — more than a hundred of them, from the indri whose call carries kilometres through the rainforest to mouse lemurs small enough to sit in a palm. There is no equivalent anywhere; this is not a variation on an African safari, it is a different proposition.
The landscapes match. The Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava is a stand of Adansonia grandidieri, a species found only here, their trunks rising like columns along a dirt road. At Tsingy de Bemaraha, UNESCO-inscribed, limestone has been eroded into a forest of blades sharp enough to require harnesses to cross. The eastern rainforests, also UNESCO-inscribed, are where the indri lives.
The honest constraint is movement. Madagascar is large, the roads are poor and slow, and distances that look modest on a map take a full day or more. Travellers who try to see the baobabs, the tsingy and the eastern rainforest in ten days spend the trip in a vehicle. Choose one region, or fly between two.
When to go to Madagascar
A tropical island with a cyclone season, and roads that decide much of what is possible.
How much time you need
The temptation is to cover the island. Resist it — Madagascar rewards depth over breadth more than almost anywhere.
How to Explore the World
Six ways to find your next journey — by map, by moment, or by the feeling you are chasing.
Explore the world continent by continent, country by country — every place mapped to the right season.
The landmarks that define a journey, from ancient sites to natural marvels worth crossing the world for.
Beyond the headline sights — the quiet streets and local secrets our specialists know first-hand.
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Direct routes, visa-on-arrival and e-Visa options that make the world more reachable than you think.
Use any destination as a starting point — every journey is shaped entirely to your taste.
Madagascar entry — on arrival, or online
Indian passport holders may take a visa on arrival at international airports, or apply for an e-Visa in advance. There is no visa-free entry.
Madagascar offers Indian passport holders two straightforward routes: a visa on arrival, issued at international airports for stays of up to ninety days, or an e-Visa applied for in advance — the e-Visa system was reactivated around April 2023. Neither route is onerous, and the visa is rarely the difficult part of a Madagascar trip. Confirm the current position with the Malagasy mission or the official e-Visa service before booking non-refundable travel.
This is the single most common way a Madagascar itinerary goes wrong. Road distances that look modest take a full day or more, and the surface deteriorates sharply outside the main routes. Either pick one region and see it properly, or budget for internal flights between two.
Madagascar's visa fees were revised more than once during 2026. We do not publish fees for any country, and here in particular a figure quoted anywhere online may already be out of date — check the official service at the time you apply.
Access to Tsingy de Bemaraha depends on roads that are impassable in the wet months, so it is effectively a dry-season destination. If the tsingy is your reason for coming, that constrains your dates before anything else does.
Entry arrangements are set by Madagascar and can change without notice. Only the Malagasy mission or the official e-Visa service can confirm what applies to your passport and your dates. We do not publish visa fees here.
For all Madagascar journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.
What to know before you go
Madagascar — common questions
Madagascar for every
kind of traveller
Think in regions rather than in a national circuit. Most good trips cover one, or two connected by air.
The Avenue of the Baobabs is a stand of Adansonia grandidieri along a dirt road west of Morondava, at its best at sunrise and sunset. The species grows only in Madagascar, and the trees are centuries old.
Limestone eroded into a forest of vertical blades, crossed on fixed cables and rope bridges, with caves and canyons below. UNESCO-inscribed, genuinely strenuous, and unlike any landscape elsewhere.
The most accessible rainforest from the capital and the place to hear the indri — the largest living lemur, whose call carries for kilometres. Night walks reveal chameleons and mouse lemurs.
An island off the north-west with reefs, diving and a considerably easier pace than the mainland. The usual way to finish a trip that has spent a week on rough roads.
Baobabs and tsingy, rainforest and indri, or spiny desert and ring-tailed lemurs. Tell us which and we will route it.