National park fees: what changes on 1 November 2026

Entry to a Malagasy national park is charged through the DEAP (droit d'entrée aux aires protégées). You pay it at the park gate, per person and per day of visit, and it is separate from the guide's fee — a guide being compulsory in almost every park. That charge had not moved in twelve years. It is about to double.

What has been announced

Madagascar National Parks (MNP), which manages 49 protected areas across the country, announced in August 2025 a revision of the DEAP covering all of its parks and reserves, on a simple principle: a doubling of fees for every category of visitor — nationals, foreign residents and international tourists alike.

The timetable, however, has already slipped once. The increase was first due on 1 January 2026. At the request of tour operators and travel agencies, who were already selling trips at the old rate, it was pushed back. The date now set is 1 November 2026 — the start of the high season.

The announced rates

MNP grades its sites into categories ("exceptional", "marine", "escape", "adventure", flagship sites), and the fee follows the category rather than the individual park. These are the figures published when the rise was announced, in ariary, per person per day:

The parks named explicitly in the announcement are Isalo, Ankarana, Tsimanampetsotsa, Analamazaotra-Mantadia (Andasibe), Andringitra, Namoroka, Marojejy, Masoala and Zombitse-Vohibasia. For comparison, Ankarafantsika was still posted in early 2026 at 2,000 Ar for a Malagasy adult and 45,000 Ar for a foreign visitor.

On top of that come supplementary activities — birdwatching, night walks, access to the natural pools — charged at 50,000 Ar. Do not brush past that line: at Isalo the Piscine Naturelle and Piscine Bleue are part of the very reason people come; at Andasibe, the night walk is often the best hour of the day.

What it actually means for a trip

A classic RN7 route strings together four parks without trying: Andasibe as a round trip from Tana, then Ranomafana, Isalo, and Zombitse-Vohibasia on the road to Tuléar. For two people allowing two days at Isalo and one day at each of the others, the "park entry" line simply doubles. Against a full trip budget this is no revolution — transport and accommodation take the lion's share — but over a long circuit the gap runs into hundreds of thousands of ariary, and it is payable in cash, in ariary, at the park gate. ATMs thin out fast once you leave the main towns, so plan for it.

Two useful reflexes:

• Check what your agency's quoted price covers. A trip sold before the new rate takes effect may have been budgeted at the old one. Some operators absorb the difference, others re-invoice it on arrival: ask in writing.
• The guide is not included in the DEAP. Park guides work through local associations with their own scales depending on the circuit and its length. That is a second budget line, also settled in cash.

Is it worth travelling before November?

If budget is the only criterion, yes: a visit before 1 November 2026 still pays the old rate. But the question deserves reframing, because season matters more than the gate fee. October is an excellent month in the south and west — Isalo, the baobabs, the Tsingy still reachable — and a good time for lemurs at Andasibe and Ranomafana. December to March, by contrast, concentrates the rains and the cyclone season over much of the island, with tracks cut off: at that point the entry fee is no longer the issue.

One thing worth remembering: these fees pay for trail upkeep, anti-poaching patrols and the communities living around the parks. A rate frozen for twelve years, in a country where the ariary has depreciated sharply, meant in practice a conservation budget shrinking year after year.

Sources and reliability

This page draws on announcements reported by the Malagasy press. Since the timetable has already been pushed back once, reconfirm the applicable rate with Madagascar National Parks or your operator before you travel, especially for a departure close to 1 November 2026. Saw a different rate at the gate? Report it through the Contact page: the page will be corrected and re-dated.

• L'Express de Madagascar, "Tourisme — Hausse des tarifs d'entrée dans les parcs nationaux", 5 August 2025: lexpress.mg (detailed fee table).
• L'Express de Madagascar, "Aires protégées — Les tarifs d'entrée dans les parcs nationaux doublés", May 2026: lexpress.mg (1 November start, Ankarafantsika rates).
• Midi Madagasikara, "Parcs nationaux : l'application du doublement des prix d'entrée reportée en novembre 2026": midi-madagasikara.mg (postponement requested by operators).

Published 10 August 2026. Next check scheduled for the changeover, early November 2026.

The parks concerned

Isalo, Andasibe-Mantadia, Ranomafana, Montagne d'Ambre, Tsingy de Bemaraha: each park in detail in our destination pages.