Marojejy National Park
Marojejy National Park is located in the SAVA region in the northeast of Madagascar. Geographically, the center is at 14°26' south and 49°15' east, between the Androranga river valley to the north and the Lokoho river to the south, the Andapa basin to the west and coastal plains and foothills to the east. Marojejy National Park is characterised by its impressive massif, its primary forest that covers almost the entire site and its great richness in biodiversity and endemic species.
Marojejy National Park was classified as a Natural Reserve in 1952, as National Park in 1998 and World Heritage Site in 2007. The park covers an area of 60,050ha at an altitude of 2,132m.
The predominant climate of Marojejy is tropical humid with an average annual rainfall of 1,936mm, with the maximum between November and June. The altitude plays an important role in the variation of climate. The rainfall is higher in altitude and more irregular and less in the north and northwest. In the lowland the average temperatures are about 22.3°C in July and 26.9°C in February, while on the Marojejy peaks they can go down to 1.5°C in the winter.
Two types of soil occur in Marojejy: Ferralitic soils at lower elevations and sandy peat soils beyond 1,800m. The park is dominated by a granite massif characterised by very rugged forest reliefs. It has a complex shape comprising a succession of parallel or divergent ridges from many sharp peaks with steep and irregular slopes.
The Marojejy National Park with its heavy rainfalls has a very branched and deeply embedded river system. This corresponds to powerful mountain stream characteristics with very steep gradients and a predominance of large boulders in the river beds. This river system consists of several rivers having their source in the park, of which the eight most important are: Andranomadio, Andranomifototra, Manantenina, Sambava, Soahitra, Andrahanjo, Andalangy and Antsaberaoka.
The dominant ethnic group is Tsimihety.
65km from Sambava along the tarred national road 5b (RN5b), the Marojejy National Park office is located 200m before Manantenina on the left side. From there it is 2.7km along a secondary road to the village of Mandena. From Mandena it is a 2.9km walk along a trail to the park entrance.
The approximate travel time by car from Antananarivo to the park is about three days. The first stretch goes along the RN4, thereafter along the RN6 (poorer condition) until Ambilobe, where the road splits direction Vohemar. This road is not passable during the rainy season from December to April! On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday a taxi-brousse leaves from Antananarivo (station Andranobevava and Anosibe Angarangarana) direction Andapa. A ticket costs 80,000 Ariary (2015). Alternatively, Air Madagascar and Madagasikara Airways offer regular scheduled flights.
Links
- Marojejy in Crisis - article from 2009