Masoala National Park, located in the northeast of Madagascar, is the largest protected area on the island. Most of the park is in the Sava Region, with a small part in Ambatosoa. Established in 1997, the park covers 2,300 square kilometers of rainforest and 100 square kilometers of marine areas. The Masoala Peninsula has many types of habitats because of its large size. The park includes tropical rainforest, coastal forest, flooded forest, marsh, and mangrove. Three marine parks within the area help protect coral reefs and a wide variety of ocean life.

Climate

This area of Madagascar receives a lot of rain. The driest time of the year occurs from September to December. Because the park can only be reached by a three-hour boat ride, it is best to avoid visiting during the cyclone season, which runs from January to March.

Flora and fauna

There are ten lemur species. One of them is the red ruffed lemur, which lives on the peninsula. The island reserve of Nosy Mangabe is one of the best places in Madagascar to try to see the hard-to-find nocturnal aye-aye.

Masoala is home to many other species, such as the Madagascar day gecko, leaf-tailed gecko, chameleons in different sizes, and colorful birds like the helmet vanga. It also has rare animals, including the red owl and tomato frog. Masoala is also where the day-flying sunset moth, Chrysiridia rhipheus, lives. The Madagascar serpent-eagle was found again here and only lives in healthy numbers in this part of northeast Madagascar.

The tree Ephippiandra masoalensis is found only in the park.

Three marine parks are part of Masoala National Park: Tampolo in the West, Ambodilaitry in the South, and Ifaho in the East. These areas have some of the most diverse ocean life in Madagascar and are great places for kayaking and snorkeling.

Each year from July to early September, hundreds of humpback whales visit Antongil Bay during their migration. The warm, protected waters of the bay are perfect for these whales to breed and give birth.

Conservation and threats

In June 2007, Masoala was named a World Heritage Site as part of a group of parks called Rainforests of the Atsinanana. This group includes other national parks such as Marojejy, Zahamena, Ranomafana, Andringitra, and Andohahela. These parks together show the variety of plants and animals found in the country's eastern rainforests.

Between 2009 and 2010, thousands of illegal loggers entered the national park to search for rosewood.