5 days · West
West: Baobabs and Tsingy
Sunset on the Avenue of the Baobabs, a night walk in Kirindy, the Grand Tsingy hike and a canoe on the Manambolo River.
Nature guide
Madagascar's baobabs: the species and where to see them
The six baobabs that grow nowhere else, from the giants of the Avenue near Morondava to the bottle-shaped fony of Ifaty and the rare trees of the north, with the months they flower or stand bare and the trips that reach them.
Botanists recognise eight species of baobab, and six of them grow wild only in Madagascar. The one most visitors come for is Grandidier's baobab, the tall, flat-topped tree that lines the Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava on the west coast. The smaller fony baobab fills the spiny forest at Ifaty in the south-west, and the far north, around Diego Suarez and Ankarana, has three species of its own. For bare grey branches against a blue sky, come between June and September. In the rains the trees are green.
All three of our western trips stop at the Avenue, and the Classic South ends in the spiny forest at Ifaty. Only the 20-day Ultimate Madagascar takes in both.
How many baobab species are there?
Eight. In 2024 a team of scientists sequenced the genomes of all of them for a paper in Nature: six endemic to Madagascar, the African baobab (Adansonia digitata) across mainland Africa, and Adansonia gregorii in north-western Australia. They argue that Madagascar should be seen as the centre of origin of the baobabs alive today.
You may also see counts of seven for Madagascar when a list includes the African baobab growing on the island. That isn't the same as six endemic species. This guide follows the eight-species treatment used in the 2024 paper.
Kew gives 'mother of the forest' as the meaning of the Malagasy name for Grandidier's baobab. Names and spellings vary, so a scientific name is useful if you're asking a guide for a particular tree.
The six baobabs that grow only in Madagascar
- Grandidier's baobab (Adansonia grandidieri). The giant of the Avenue: a smooth, reddish-grey column up to 3 m across and 25 to 30 m tall, with a flat crown of horizontal branches. It grows only in the south-west, roughly from the Morondava area south to Lake Ihotry near Morombe, and today it mostly stands in farmland and scrub where the forest around it has gone. Endangered.
- Za baobab (A. za). The most widespread of the six, in the south, the west and the north-west, from spiny forest to savanna. It's widest at the base and narrows towards the top. Least Concern.
- Fony baobab (A. rubrostipa). One of the two smaller Malagasy species, 5 to 20 m tall and often bottle-shaped, with reddish-brown peeling bark and finely toothed leaflets, which most baobabs don't have. It grows in the dry and spiny forests of the west and south-west. Least Concern.
- Madagascar baobab (A. madagascariensis). Pale grey bark and dark red flowers, scattered from the northern tip down the north-west coast, often along rivers. Least Concern.
- Suarez baobab (A. suarezensis). A close relative of Grandidier's, and it looks the part: up to 25 m, with a cylindrical trunk and a flat crown. It grows only at the northern tip, around the bay of Diego Suarez, with another population in the Mahory forest between Ankarana and Analamerana. Endangered.
- Perrier's baobab (A. perrieri). A rare northern species, recorded around Ankarana and Analamerana. Critically Endangered. Avoid treating old population counts as a census of today's trees.
Where to see baobabs in Madagascar
Around Morondava you don't have to hunt for them: Grandidier's baobabs stand in the fields beside the road. These are the places to aim for.
- Morondava and the Avenue. The Avenue of the Baobabs is a few hundred metres of the RN8, 15 to 20 km north of town, with Grandidier's baobabs on both sides. Bradt counts about 300 baobabs of three species within a kilometre of the road. Further north, a short way off the same road, are the Baobab Amoureux, two trees whose trunks have grown wound round each other. Sources disagree on their species, some calling them za and others fony, and we haven't found a botanical survey that settles it. The Sacred Baobab is another stop on that road, and our 20-day trip visits both on the way into Morondava. At the Sacred Baobab, ask your guide what's expected before you get out of the car.
- Ifaty and the south-west. The spiny forest north of Tulear is fony baobab country, the trunks standing among the spiny octopus trees of the Didierea family. The Reniala reserve at Mangily, by Ifaty, protects about 0.6 km² of it, with walking circuits through the spiny vegetation. Ask the reserve about current opening hours and the length of the walk. Further north, between Toliara and Morombe, Madagascar National Parks lists Grandidier's, za and fony baobabs in Mikea National Park.
- Diego Suarez and the north. The north has its own three: the Suarez baobab, Perrier's baobab and the Madagascar baobab. Madagascar National Parks lists all three at Ankarana, which gets a full day on both our north trips, and at the Analamerana Special Reserve, where tourism is still in its early days. Tell the park guide which baobabs interest you.
- Ankarafantsika, in the north-west. Madagascar baobabs grow near Lake Ravelobe, close to the road, and the park has a one-hour baobab circuit. None of our set trips goes there.
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When baobabs flower and lose their leaves
The six fall into two groups. Grandidier's and the Suarez baobab flower in the dry season, on bare branches. The other four flower in the rains, when they're in leaf or coming into it.
- Grandidier's baobab. In leaf from about October to May and bare from June to September. Kew gives May to July for its flowering, before the new leaves come. The white flowers open around dusk and attract nocturnal pollinators, including moths and lemurs.
- Suarez baobab. Flowers from late May to early July, after its leaves have dropped. The Madagascar fruit bat, which drinks the nectar, is thought to be an important pollinator.
- The other four. The za baobab flowers from November to February, Perrier's in November and December, and the fony and Madagascar baobabs from about February to April. Long-tongued hawkmoths pollinate them, and each flower is over within a night.
So for the classic silhouettes, come from June to September, which also suits the dirt roads north to the Tsingy. During flowering, look up into the crowns around dusk: binoculars help when the flowers are high above you. At Ifaty the fony baobabs are in leaf from about November to April.
In the rains, roughly December to March, the trees are green and the rice fields around them flood, which is when you get reflections like this one. But the Tsingy de Bemaraha closes and the road north turns to mud, so a wet-season trip means the baobabs from Morondava and little else (more in our cyclone season guide).
The Avenue at sunrise and sunset
The light and the atmosphere change through the day. Sunset is the popular visit, while sunrise can be quieter. Neither offers a particular sky on demand, so choose the time for the pace you want as well as for photographs.
From Morondava, allow time for the road rather than arriving at the moment of sunset. A sunrise visit means leaving town in darkness. Confirm the departure time locally and bring a torch for the walk to or from the vehicle. Keep to the road and visitor paths and leave the bark alone.
The 5-day West trip stops at the Avenue on day 1 and returns for sunset on day 5. The 10-day West Adventure has a sunset on day 9 and sunrise on day 10. The 20-day trip includes sunset, with an optional sunrise. Our Avenue of the Baobabs guide covers the practical visit.
What Malagasy people use baobabs for
Baobabs are useful trees as well as photographic subjects. Kew records food uses for Grandidier's fruit, cooking oil made from the seeds and fibres from the bark and wood used in crafts and thatching.
Look at the lower trunks and ask your guide about the marks rather than making your own. A scar may reflect a long history of local use. Visitors shouldn't cut, peel or climb a tree for a photograph.
If you want to buy a locally made product, ask where it comes from and follow your destination country's import rules. A labelled jar is easier to make sense of than a bag of seeds sold without a name.
Are Madagascar's baobabs endangered?
Half of them are. On the IUCN Red List, Perrier's baobab is Critically Endangered, and Grandidier's and the Suarez baobab are Endangered. The za, fony and Madagascar baobabs are listed as Least Concern, but the authors of the 2024 Nature paper point out that their numbers are falling too, and they call for closer attention to the Suarez and Grandidier's baobabs.
For Grandidier's, the biggest threat is the clearing of its forest for farming. The old trees are usually left standing, which is how the Avenue came to look the way it does, but in farmland very few young ones grow up to replace them. In the north, the IUCN assessments point to fire, cutting for charcoal and timber, and land cleared for fields, towns and mines.
The Avenue has protected status, with a tree nursery and planting projects. Keep to visitor paths and don't damage bark or young trees. Park fees and local guides are included in our set-trip prices.
Fitting baobabs into a trip
- The west from Morondava. The 5-day West trip, from €810 per adult: Kirindy and the Tsingy de Bemaraha, with the Avenue at both ends and the Baobabs in Love on the last day.
- The west the long way. The 10-day West Adventure, from €1,540, starts in Antananarivo and spends four days on the Tsiribihina before the Tsingy, Kirindy and the Avenue.
- The south-west. The Classic South, from €1,730, follows the RN7 to Ifaty. The last stretch towards Tulear runs through spiny forest and baobabs, and the free day at Ifaty can include a spiny forest walk.
- Both. The 20-day Ultimate Madagascar, from €3,070, does the Sacred Baobab, the Baobab Amoureux and the Avenue, then follows the coast south through Belo sur Mer and Morombe to Ifaty.
The 10-day and 20-day trips both include the Tsiribihina. At the time of writing, the UK Foreign Office says armed criminals have boarded boats on the river and robbed passengers, and it advises seeking alternative routes. We can reshape either trip without it, for example by flying to Morondava and joining the western route there (more in our safety guide).
Tell us which baobabs you're after and when you can travel, on the booking form or WhatsApp. A real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours, with a written itinerary and a firm price.
Photos: Graphic Node and Nicolas Jehly on Unsplash.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many baobab species are there in Madagascar?
Six grow wild only in Madagascar, out of eight baobab species in the world: Grandidier's, the za, the fony (Adansonia rubrostipa), the Madagascar baobab, the Suarez baobab and Perrier's. The other two are the African baobab, which also grows in Madagascar but isn't native, and one species in north-western Australia. Some guidebooks say nine, counting an African tree described in 2012 that's no longer recognised as a separate species.
Where is the best place to see baobabs in Madagascar?
The Avenue of the Baobabs, 15 to 20 km north of Morondava, for Grandidier's baobab, the biggest and best known. For more species, add the spiny forest around Ifaty, north of Tulear, where the Reniala reserve protects spiny forest with fony baobabs, or Ankarana in the far north, where Madagascar National Parks lists three species.
What is Grandidier's baobab?
Adansonia grandidieri, the largest of Madagascar's baobabs and the tree that lines the Avenue of the Baobabs. It has a smooth, reddish-grey trunk up to 3 m across and 25 to 30 m tall, with a flat crown of horizontal branches. It grows only in the south-west, roughly from Morondava to Morombe, and is listed as Endangered. In Malagasy it's reniala, "mother of the forest".
When is the best time to see baobabs in Madagascar?
For bare silhouettes, June to September, when Grandidier's baobabs have dropped their leaves and the roads in the west are dry. Kew gives May to July for flowering, with the white flowers opening around dusk. From about October to May they're in leaf, and in the rains the fields around the Avenue flood, but the Tsingy de Bemaraha closes and the western roads turn to mud.
Are baobabs in Madagascar endangered?
Three of the six are. On the IUCN Red List, Perrier's baobab is Critically Endangered, and Grandidier's and the Suarez baobab are Endangered. The za, fony and Madagascar baobabs are Least Concern, though their numbers are falling too. The main threats are forest cleared for farming, fire, and cutting for charcoal and timber.
What are the Baobabs in Love?
The Baobab Amoureux: two baobabs near Morondava whose trunks have grown wound round each other, a short detour off the road north towards Kirindy, beyond the Avenue of the Baobabs. Sources disagree on the species, some calling them za baobabs and others fony. Our 5-day West trip and 20-day Ultimate Madagascar both stop there.
Our trips
Trips that take you there
Private trips with your own vehicle and driver-guide. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 days · West
West Adventure: Tsiribihina River, Tsingy & Baobabs
Four days drifting down the Tsiribihina with camps on the riverbank, then the Grand Tsingy, Kirindy's nocturnal forest and the baobabs.
20 days · Island-wide
Ultimate Madagascar Adventure
Three weeks and nearly every landscape the island has: river cruise, Tsingy, baobabs, remote Vezo coast and the southern parks.
11 days · South
Classic South, Expanded Version
The classic route done properly: Andasibe, Ranomafana, Anja's ring-tailed lemurs, the canyons of Isalo and the reef at Ifaty.
Keep planning
More guides for your trip
Avenue of the Baobabs: how to visit, and when
When to go, how to get to Morondava, what the rains change, and how to fit the Avenue in with Kirindy and the Tsingy.
Morondava: the base for the baobabs, Kirindy and the Tsingy
The flight or the long road in, Kirindy to the north, Belo-sur-Mer to the south, the beach the sea is eating, the dry months and how many nights to stay.
Ifaty and Tulear: the reef, the spiny forest and the end of the RN7
Ifaty's lagoon and reef, the baobabs and birds of the Reniala spiny forest, Tulear and its flights, Anakao by boat, the heat and whale months, and how many nights to stay.
Diego Suarez: the Three Bays, Amber Mountain and Ankarana
Diego Suarez and the far north: the Three Bays, the Emerald Sea, Montagne d'Ambre, the Tsingy Rouge and Ankarana, the dry windy months, and how many nights to give it.
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