A volcanic massif cloaked in rainforest, with waterfalls and crater lakes: an oasis of cool air above the arid north.
An hour's drive from Diego Suarez, Amber Mountain rises as an island of rainforest on a volcanic massif, between 1,000 and nearly 1,500 m above sea level. While the surrounding north is dry, here the clouds snag on the ridges, tree ferns grow to outsized proportions and water trickles everywhere. Established in 1958, it is one of Madagascar's oldest national parks — and one of the easiest to visit, with wide, shaded, well-marked trails.
Far north, Diana region, some thirty kilometres south of Diego Suarez (Antsiranana), above the village of Joffreville (Ambohitra).
May to November, the driest stretch. This is a rainforest: rain is possible year-round and it stays cool at altitude.
About 1 hour by road from Diego Suarez to Joffreville, then a few kilometres of track to the park entrance.
A day trip from Diego Suarez for the waterfalls; 2 days to push on to the crater lakes.
The waterfalls set the pace of a visit. The Sacred Waterfall, closest to the entrance, drops into a liana-fringed pool where local people still leave offerings. Further on, the Grande Cascade (Antomboka) falls some thirty metres into a green amphitheatre, while the Petite Cascade slips by on the way back. Keen walkers carry on to the Lake of the Great Cathedral, a perfectly circular crater drowned in forest.
The wildlife is a distillation of Madagascar's endemism: crowned lemurs and Sanford's brown lemurs in noisy little troops, ring-tailed mongoose, and above all miniature reptiles — Brookesia, among the smallest chameleons on Earth, small enough to sit on a fingernail, and Calumma amber, which lives on this massif alone.
The park is visited with a licensed guide, hired at the entrance along with the Madagascar National Parks entry fee. Bring a light sweater: after the heat of Diego, the temperature drop is surprising, especially early in the morning. A waterproof shell and shoes you don't mind muddying are useful even in the dry season.
To spot Brookesia, walk slowly and let the guide work: chameleons the size of a fingernail are invisible to an untrained eye. The trip pairs naturally with a stay in Diego Suarez, the base for excursions to the red tsingy and the Three Bays as well.
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