Isalo Ranch

Isalo has twenty bungalows, perfect for families as they sleep up to five people. Each is located in a tranquil forested area and painted in terracotta tones and finished with traditional thatched roofs, built in the traditional style of the region. Interiors are simple but adequate, cosy and comfortable with individual baths and sanitary facilities, hot water, mosquito nets and a private terrace.

The rooms are also characterised by colourful fabrics and art works by local artists. All rooms come with bathtubs and are equipped with in-room safes, hot water, mosquito nets and private terraces, and are powered by solar power.

If you want a more rustic experience at the Isalo Ranch, you can enjoy camping where you can be right in the middle of nature while still being close to the facilities at the ranch.

The hotels own restaurant sits in heart of the ranch, overlooking the pool and with magnificent panoramic views towards the Isalo mountains, allowing you to sit on the terrace with a fruit cocktail or one of their famous rums, flavoured with fruits and Malagasy spices and enjoy this comfortable place ideal for meetings and exchanges with your fellow visitors.

Built in a traditional style, the restaurant offers a choice of menus filled with creative and natural foods, a cuisine inspired by local culinary influences as well as french, asian and oriental. Additionally, there are often performances from local dancers and musicians as evening entertainment.

The main attraction at Isalo Ranch is visiting the Isalo National Park, a granite massif with breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and much endemic wildlife such as a good population of lemur species, including Verraux’s sifakas, brown and ring-tail lemurs. Hikes to the beautiful natural pools can also be arranged, including The Natural Pool, The Canyon and Les Cascades des Nymphes or the ‘Blue and Black Pool’. Other ways to tour the national park include cycling or 4×4 trips.

Several hikes created by The National Association for the Management of Parks in cooperation with local guides will introduce you to the extraordinary sites populated by lemurs, chameleons and fauna of the region, and explain local customs and the history of the National Park. At the park reception, feel free to ask about new places to visit, your guide will propose visits depending on the time and energy that are available to you.

A fee is charged for visiting the park and for the guides, we also recommend that you spend some time in the small museum of the National Park (free admission).

80 km to the south of Isalo Ranch, with easy access from National Road 7 is another National Park, named Zombitse Vohibasia. This is a dry forest filled with Baobabs, Orchids, and Lemurs and especially a large number of endemic birds unique in Madagascar, notably the Bernieria apperti.

The Anja Community Reserve is a woodland area and freshwater lake, situated at the base of a large cliff, home to the highest concentration of maki, or ring-tailed lemurs, in all of Madagascar. Much of the reserve is dominated by fallen rocks and boulders and there are two small caves providing habitat for bats and owls. This reserve has much sheltered habitat in the pocket of forest that has been established between the vast boulders. The reserve was created in 2001 with the support of the UNDP to help preserve the local environment and wildlife, and to provide additional employment and income to the local community.

The island has some of the highest biodiversity on the planet. Unique to the island are more than 100 species of lemurs, 99 percent of its frogs species, and 36 genera of birds. On nature tours, you will be exploring Madagascar’s wildlife from the different national parks, and with various and unique birds and lemur species, you will be enjoying very diverse and beautiful landscapes.

The materials used to build the bungalows at the ranch are made from red clay, timber-framed and have thatched roofs with added colourful stone blocks from a nearby quarry in order to create a sustainable and replenishable building style.

For environmental reasons, the Isalo Ranch have chosen solar energy to produce their electricity and heat the water used in the ranch, in order to preserve the environment and respect nature, as well as to encourage sustainable tourism.