Sifakas: where to see Madagascar's dancing lemurs

Sifakas are big, long-legged lemurs that leap from trunk to trunk and, when they have to cross open ground, bound sideways on their hind legs with their arms held up. That's the "dance". There are nine species, all found only in Madagascar, and each lives in its own region. For the dancing Verreaux's sifaka, go west to Kirindy or south to Isalo. Decken's lives at the Tsingy de Bemaraha, the diademed sifaka at Mantadia near Andasibe, and Milne-Edwards' at Ranomafana. They're wild, so nobody can promise you one.

The mother and baby at the top of this page are a still from Christian's own camera, filmed in September 2026. Of our set trips, the Ultimate Madagascar Adventure covers the most sifaka country, with three species along its route. Every trip is private and can be reshaped.

What is a sifaka?

Sifakas make up the genus Propithecus, in the same family as the indri, the largest living lemur. Most weigh 3 to 6 kg, with a head and body of 40 to 55 cm and a tail about as long again. The name copies their alarm call, which the Duke Lemur Center writes as "shif-auk".

They live in groups of two to about a dozen and eat mostly leaves, with flowers and fruit when they can get them. In the trees they cling upright to a trunk and push off with their legs, and a Verreaux's sifaka can clear 10 m in one leap. They're active by day and sleep high in the canopy.

Why do sifakas dance?

Because their bodies are built for leaping, not walking. A sifaka's legs are long and powerful, and its arms are only about two-thirds as long. That's ideal for springing between upright trunks and no use for walking on all fours, so they don't. When a group has to cross a gap too wide to jump, such as a track or a clearing, they drop down and bound across sideways on their hind legs, arms thrown up for balance.

It's a way of crossing open ground, not a display, and it lasts a few seconds. Mostly you'll watch sifakas feed and leap in the branches, which we think is the better sighting anyway.

If the dance itself is what you want on camera, Berenty is another place to discuss, a private reserve on the Mandrare river in the far south, about two hours' drive from Fort-Dauphin. Its habituated Verreaux's sifakas sometimes cross open ground, but nobody should make an animal move for a photograph. None of our set trips go there, and at the time of writing the UK Foreign Office says the security situation in the south between Ihosy, Toliara and Fort-Dauphin remains tense. If Berenty matters to you, ask us.

Decken's sifaka: the Tsingy de Bemaraha

Decken's sifaka looks a lot like Verreaux's: creamy white, sometimes tinged yellow-gold, with an entirely black face. It lives north of the Manambolo, the river you canoe through the gorge at Bekopaka, and Madagascar National Parks names it as the flagship species of the Tsingy de Bemaraha. It too has been Critically Endangered since 2020.

The Tsingy is a trip for the rock first, but with luck you'll meet sifakas on the forest stretch of the Grand Tsingy walk. The Ultimate's Grand Tsingy day, day 6, names Decken's sifakas among the things to look for, and the 5-day trip gives the Tsingy two days. The park opens only in the dry season, usually mid-April to November, and June to mid-October is safest for the Grand Tsingy. More in our Tsingy guide.

Milne-Edwards' sifaka: Ranomafana

This is the sifaka at the top of the page: almost black, with a paler saddle low on its back and orange-red eyes. It lives in the mountain rainforest of the south-east, as far south as Andringitra, in groups of three to nine. It's the one sifaka the IUCN rates Endangered rather than Critically Endangered, and local fady, taboos against harming it, have helped protect it.

Ranomafana National Park has 14 lemur species and steep, often wet trails, so wear shoes with grip. Our Classic South, from €1,730 per adult, spends days 4 and 5 there on its way down the RN7, then reaches Isalo's Verreaux's sifakas on day 8. The Ultimate's day 18 in Ranomafana names Milne-Edwards' sifaka among the things to look for. More in our Ranomafana guide.

Coquerel's, golden-crowned and silky sifakas: off our routes

None of our set trips go to these three, but every trip can be reshaped, so ask us what it takes.

• Coquerel's sifaka. Cream, with deep rust-brown patches on its arms and legs. Ankarafantsika National Park, in the dry north-west on the RN4 between Antananarivo and Mahajanga, has a two-hour circuit named after it, and June to November are its best months for lemurs.
• Golden-crowned sifaka. White, with a bright orange-gold crown, and found only in the forests around Daraina, between the Loky and Manambato rivers in the north-east. Daraina sits on the unpaved stretch of the RN5a between Ambilobe and Vohemar, a long detour even from Ankarana, where our north trips spend a day.
• Silky sifaka. Long, pure white fur, and the park's own site estimates fewer than a thousand left in the wild, none in captivity. It lives in Marojejy National Park and nearby Anjanaharibe-Sud. The park is about 65 km by road from Sambava, and you walk in from the village of Manantenina and sleep at camps inside it. It's a trip for fit walkers who have come for one animal.

The other two, the black Perrier's sifaka and the crowned sifaka, have small ranges in the north-east and north-west, well away from the usual routes.

Are sifakas endangered?

Yes, all nine. In 2020 the IUCN moved Verreaux's, Coquerel's, Decken's and the crowned sifaka from Endangered to Critically Endangered, which left eight of the nine in its highest threat category. Milne-Edwards' sifaka, at Endangered, is the exception. Across all lemurs, the same assessment found more than nine in ten species threatened, mostly through forest loss and hunting.

Park fees and local guides help fund the parks and community reserves. On our trips both are in the price. The IUCN's primate specialists also ask travellers to prefer Malagasy-owned operators. We are one.

The best time to see sifakas

Sifakas live in their forests throughout the year, but access varies with the season. The dry season, May to mid-November, is easiest: cooler walking, and the roads to Kirindy and the Tsingy usually open.

Birth timing varies by species and locality. Animal Diversity Web gives June to September for Verreaux's sifaka. Young cling to their mothers before becoming independent, so a late dry-season visit may find mothers carrying them. Avoid choosing a single week on the assumption that every species has the same birth calendar.

For the west, our pick is September to mid-October, when the babies are on their mothers' backs and the Grand Tsingy is still open. Whatever the month, go early: Verreaux's sifakas are busiest in the morning and late afternoon. The best time to visit Madagascar goes month by month.

Which of our trips to choose for sifakas

The 5-day west trip fits the forests of two species into five days. The Classic South gives you a chance of three, from Andasibe to Isalo. So does the Ultimate, from €3,070 per adult, and since it starts in Antananarivo, two days at Andasibe add a chance of the diademed sifaka. The Ultimate also spends three days on the Tsiribihina river, where at the time of writing the UK Foreign Office advises seeking alternative routes after armed robberies on boats. We can reshape it without the river (safety guide).

Tell us which sifakas you're after and how many days you have, on the booking form or WhatsApp. A real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours, with a written itinerary and a firm price.

Photo: Sandy Ravaloniaina on Unsplash.