The Kingdom of Julian August 1, 2017 | Madagascar Community Service

Another beautiful day in Isalo! This time we hiked up a canyon that was full of trees. Our guide stopped to tell us about a chameleon when a troop of ring-tailed lemurs appeared to start feeding on some fruits in the tree over us! They were so close that we had to back up at times to ensure a safe distance between ourselves and them!

Ring-tailed lemurs greet us at the park entrance.
| Photo by Brandon S.
Continuing up the canyon, we saw some crazy-looking leaf bugs and lots of beautiful birds. The sides of the canyon started to close in, forcing us to meander back and forth across the crystal clear water of a stream.

Crazy-looking leaf bugs in the forest. | Photo by Brandon S.

Kieran P. walking through one of Isalo’s gorgeous canyons. | Photo by Brandon S.
Finally, we reached the source. Two waterfalls with beautiful swimming pools at the bottom. We spent about an hour relaxing in the pools before it was time to head back through the fern-laden canyon for lunch.

Cooling off in one of the natural pools. | Photo by Brandon S.
Lunch was delicious, but it was interrupted by a plethora of lemurs! The ring-tails were the most numerous, but there were also red-fronted brown lemurs and one Verreaux’s sifaka. Our guide explained to us that an accidental fire in 2010 had burned much of the forest and no other sifakas had been seen since. A tough reminder of the threats facing lemurs, even in protected areas.

Photo by Brandon S.

Kieran P. tries to get a picture of the lemurs that visited us during lunch. | Photo by Brandon S.
Once we arrived back at the hotel we spent the afternoon relaxing, riding horses, and exploring the area. We took a quick trip to the Fenêtre d’Isalo (Window of Isalo) where we watched a beautiful sunset before enjoying our last dinner in our magical stone hotel.

Sunset at La Fenêtre. | Photo by Brandon S.

Group photo at La Fenêtre d’Isalo. | Photo by Brandon S.