Parc National de Masoala and Parc National de Masoala · 111 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Parc National de Masoala

   Madagascar's north-east corner is a great green thumb pushed into the Indian Ocean, and the Masoala peninsula is the wildest part of it. The national park covers a vast area of lowland rainforest, mangroves, and coast, and it holds the largest protected tract of the island's eastern rainforest, which is why it is bundled into the Rainforests of the Atsinanana World Heritage listing. Behind the beaches, the forest runs up steep hills in layer after layer of palms, vines, orchids and giant trees.

   Read the complete Parc National de Masoala write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Parc National de Masoala is where the day begins. Next is Parc National de Masoala.

2. 2. Parc National de Masoala

   Masoala is the great green thumb of Madagascar, a peninsula pushing into the Indian Ocean in the northeast of the island, and the national park that fills it is the biggest protected area in the country. The rainforest here comes down to the beach, and the border between trees and sea is almost nonexistent, so you can stand on white sand with palms behind you and coral in front. Antongil Bay, on the western side, is deep and wide, and humpback whales come there to breed between about July and September.

   Read the complete Parc National de Masoala write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Parc National de Masoala comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs.

3. 3. Parc National de Masoala

   At the northern tip of the Masoala peninsula, the land swings toward Cap Est, the eastern point of Madagascar, and the landscape changes. The rainforest here meets the Indian Ocean directly, with white beaches, coral reefs and rocky headlands, and in places the trees reach almost to the waterline. This is the exposed side of Masoala, battered by cyclones and strong swells, and it is a wilder coast than the sheltered bay on the west.

   Read the complete Parc National de Masoala write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Parc National de Masoala. Next is back through Parc National de Masoala.

4. 4. back through Parc National de Masoala

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Parc National de Masoala write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Parc National de Masoala, late in the day.

5. 5. Parc National de Masoala

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Parc National de Masoala write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Parc National de Masoala. That is the ride.