Marojejy is a mountain wrapped in cloud. It rises in the north-east of Madagascar above the Andapa basin, reaching 2,132 metres at its highest peak, and the climb from the lowland rice fields to the summit passes through several different worlds: lowland forest with huge buttressed trees, then montane forest dripping with moss and orchids, and finally a stunted cloud forest and open rock at the top. The park is part of the Atsinanana World Heritage group, and it is considered one of the most diverse corners of the island.
Marojejy is best known for the silky sifaka, a white lemur with long fur and an almost ghostly look that leaps through the trees with extraordinary power and is one of the rarest primates on Earth. Other lemurs, chameleons, geckos, tiny frogs and birds fill the forest, and there are a great many plants found nowhere else. Visitors walk in with local guides and sleep at simple camps along the trail, so a visit takes at least three days. The paths are steep, wet and slippery.
Getting to the trailhead means Andapa, a town of about twenty thousand, and the road there is the real adventure. Surfaces on the approach from Sambava can be badly rutted, and heavy rain in the cyclone season from January to March can wash out sections or close them altogether. The dry months from September to November are far better, though showers are always possible on the east coast. Zebu carts, pedestrians and trucks share the road, and visibility drops fast in mist.
Fuel in Andapa is usually available, though supplies can be irregular, so top up wherever you can and carry a spare container. The market sells fruit, rice and vanilla, and small hotels and eateries serve rice with zebu or fish. Park fees and guides must be arranged in advance, and you should leave valuables safely locked away. The reward for all this effort is a night on the mountain, listening to frogs and unfamiliar calls under a dripping canopy.