Visit the Tsingy de Bemaraha stone forest

“The Tsingy formations look like someone took a cheese grater to solid rock. Sharp ridges, deep crevices, and bridges connecting sections that have no business being connected. Our guide matter-of-factly explained the route while I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. But somewhere around the fourth bridge crossing, fear shifted into focus. Each step required attention. Every handhold mattered. The usual mental chatter about deadlines and emails disappeared completely. Sometimes both myself and colleagues froze halfway across one particularly bouncy section. We were all experiencing the Tsingy de Bemaraha for the first time. Instead of impatience, we felt genuine concern for getting each other safely across. We talked to each other through it step by step. When we reached the other side, our relief was infectious.”

“The next day we set out to climb the Grand Tsingy, which turned out to be far more challenging yet thrilling. On pinnacles that reached as high as 800m, the vertical drop can be quite intimidating, especially for those with vertigo. A large portion of the trek involved exposed and vertiginous scramble. In comparison with the Petite Tsingy, this climb was far more fulfilling in terms of both the difficulty in getting there and the scenic panorama that awaited us at the end of the climb. To negotiate these rugged routes, we were equipped with harnesses that were clipped to the steel cable available on-site. I was honestly quite surprised by the well-developed infrastructure in the nature reserve – most of the iron bridges and steel ladders were newly constructed and looked very robust and safe. Our guide Mahara didn’t speak much English (and our French was equally bad), but he didn’t let that get in our way.”