6-Nights Wild Madagascar — CALL

Located in western Madagascar, Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest protected area in the country. Opened to the public in 1998, it contains spectacular limestone karst formations known as tsingy.

The best way to get there is by small aircraft from the capital, Antananarivo. Other options include renting an SUV in Belo-sur-Tsiribihina and traveling to Bekopaka; and for adventurers, there is the possibility to go down the Tsiribihina River by canoe. The Gran Tsingy is only open April to early November, in the dry season.

The 375,440-acre/152,000-hectare park is famous for its undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps. It is also a habitat for rare birds and wildlife, such as the Decken's sifaka, a kind of lemur.

An important center of the Sakalava people in Madagascar, Morondava is a good base for visiting their decorated tombs. Unfortunately, many of the sculptures associated with the tombs have been stolen, so the tombs are considerably less impressive than they once were. Anyone wishing to visit the tombs must be accompanied by a guide.

Morondava, 230 mi/370 km southwest of Antananarivo, is also known for its beaches (Nosy Kely has the best sunsets), and for the much-photographed Avenue of Baobabs, which lies about 10 mi/15 km north of town. It is particularly spectacular at sunrise or sunset. Some 40 mi/65 km northeast of Morondova, the dry forest of Kirindy is the best place in Madagascar to see the fossa, the island's largest predator; it has retractable claws and looks like a cross between a cat and a weasel. Nosy Kely beach offers some modest hotels with small cabins on the sand facing the sea.

Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital city, sits at 4,500 ft/1,370 m in a twisting valley near the center of the island. Tana, as the city is often called, has unusual French- and Asian-inspired architecture, and winding cobblestoned streets and staircases that create a medieval impression. Attractions include the Rova of Antananarivo, The Law Court of Ambatondrafandrana, the Prime Minister's Palace, the colorful daily flower market on the edge of Lake Anosy, and the botanical and zoological gardens, where you can see the egg and 10-ft-/3-m-tall skeleton of the extinct elephant bird.

Antananarivo's original name was Analamanga (the blue forest). In 1610, the revered King Andrianjaka stationed 1,000 soldiers on the blue hill to defend it and renamed the city Antananarivo, meaning "City of a Thousand Warriors." The king also built a royal palace there. Sadly, the Rova (Queen's Palace) burned to the ground in 1996. Though virtually nothing remains at the site, there are nice views of the city from the hill where the palace once stood.

From Antananarivo, it's possible to make a one- or two-night excursion to Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Day trips can also be made to the "Blue Hill" of Ambohimanga (14 mi/23 km away), where you can see an 18th-century royal palace and enjoy beautiful views overlooking terraced rice paddies; to Ambatolampy (a small, attractive town southwest of the capital—get a visitor's permit in Tana); and to Antsirabe. Plan about three nights in Antananarivo.