Amber Mountain NP, Madagascar

Is this what you would have expected when going to a supposedly jungle-covered mountain? Neither did we. Amber mountain was a disappointment in several ways. As you can see, the path is very wide. It is used by local villagers (they shouldn't) as well as cars using this path as a shortcut to bring tourists unable or unwilling to walk to the next point in the park.

The actual forest is on the sides of the trail, as you can see. Yet it is elevated, so it is very hard to properly spot or photograph species. Oh, and 2/3 of the park was closed due to safety issues around the lakes. It has folks looking to rob you, and a killing has been reported as well. In the areas that are open, there are several military checkpoints.

Not great. Yet with two visits planned in our program we figured to just make the best of it. With a wish-list of species in hand, we went on a "hunt" to find them all, and that way still made things enjoyable.