Amber Mountain National Park
Wildlife & Animals
Madagascar Parks
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many guidebooks to African destinations, including the Insight guide to Madagascar.
Although Amber Mountain National Park (Parc National Montagne d’Ambre) is visited mostly for its scenic beauty, there is plenty of wildlife to be seen. The rainforest has an impressive list of chameleon species. A guide should be able to find the miniscule Mount d'Ambre leaf chameleon as well as the master of camouflage, the mossy leaf-tailed gecko.
brown lemur Common
leaf chameleon Common
chameleon Common
chameleon Occasional
mongoose Occasional
tree boa Occasional
giant day gecko Occasional
fork-marked lemur Rare
Wildlife Highlights
Although Sanford's brown lemur and crowned lemur are quite common in the park, finding them is usually not the main focus. A standard visit is a hike, taking in some of the waterfalls and lakes, and looking for chameleons, frogs, leaf-tailed geckos and day geckos along the way. Lucky visitors might also see a beautiful Madagascar tree boa.
Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
Amber Mountain can be visited throughout the year. April to May and October to November are recommended for seeing reptiles without too much rain. Many reptiles and amphibians are harder to see in the drier months from June to September as they are less active. Around October to November many lemurs have babies. The wettest months are from mid-December to March and hiking in the forest can become more difficult.
