Marojejy National Park
Maroezhi is a national park of Madagascar, covering an area of 555 km2. The park was founded in the massif of the same name in 1998, but before that there was a reserve here, founded in 1952. In 2007, the area was added to the World Heritage List as the Atsinanana Forest.
The height range in the park ranges from 75 to 2132 meters. All because of the mountain range stretching from the Maswala Peninsula to Tsaratanan. The Maroezha Mountains feed the Loko and Andranga rivers, which carry their waters to the Indian Ocean. The mountains, like the entire island, are part of the Gondwana continent, which split 160 million years ago. The basis for the mountains is gneiss, thanks to which the mountains have not been destroyed like the others over millions of years. Gneiss consists of alternating bands of light and dark colored minerals. Light minerals, consisting mainly of quartz and feldspar, are the heaviest and strongest, while dark minerals, which are mainly mica biotite, are softer and more susceptible to fracture. Thanks to this composition, the mountains have their current shape.
Due to the special microclimate in Maroezha Park, there is a huge variety of flora and fauna. There are 118 species of birds, 148 reptiles and 11 varieties of lemurs. One of the lemurs, the silky sifaka, is on the list of the 25 most vulnerable primates. The elusive nocturnal ai-ai lives here, which has been seen only once in the park, although its old nests and traces of its feeding have been found at various heights.
With each new expedition, scientists discover new species of animals and plants for themselves. The vegetation of the park includes 2,000 plant species, which grow depending on the climate. On the wet eastern slopes, plants show rapid growth, on the dry western slopes, plants grow slowly, and on the mountain tops vegetation had to adapt to strong winds and poor soils. Of the plants found in Maroezha, there are 35 species of palm trees, some of which are on the verge of extinction. Only three of these palms can be found outside Madagascar, and seven can only be found in Maroega. There are also 275 ferns growing here, many of these species of ferns are very rare and found in a limited area.
Maroezhi National Park is best visited during the dry season from April to May and from September to December. This is one of the few national parks in Madagascar where you can stay in a chalet or bungalow.
