Aerial view of the Masoala coast: primary rainforest running down steep hills to a rocky shore, coral-flecked shallows and a strip of sand between

Madagascar

Masoala Forest Lodge

Under canvas, between jungle and reef, with the choice each morning of which one to walk into.

Masoala Forest Lodge is where the rainforest meets the sea, and that is not a slogan but a description of the floor plan. The tented accommodation is pitched between a warm, coral-rich ocean on one side and primary rainforest on the other, so that the walk from your bed takes you either into the trees or into the water, depending on your mood.

It is a primordial sort of place. Primary rainforest is forest that has never been cleared, and it carries itself accordingly: dense, old and full of wildlife that has had a very long time to become fascinating. Guided forest walks take you into it. Forest streams, clear enough to see the bottom, run out of it toward the sea.

A palm-thatched dining pavilion on stilts above black rocks at twilight, lamps lit, the sea flat and pale under the first stars
The pavilion on the rocks, at dusk
There are private beaches, which means the sand you wake up to is yours.

The sea has its own programme: snorkelling over coral, sea kayaking along the coast, fishing, and whale-watching when the whales oblige. There are private beaches, which means the sand you wake up to is yours.

Under canvas, between jungle and reef, with the choice each morning of which one to walk into. We know of very few places that offer the argument, let alone settle it so pleasantly.

01

The lodge

Inside a safari tent: a wide bed in white linen with two rolled green Masoala towels, forest visible through the mesh walls and the open front
Under canvas
Lantern-lit tables on the dining deck at night beneath a palm-thatch roof, the sea dark beyond the rail
Dinner by lantern
Guests in camp chairs around a fire on the beach at dusk, a palm leaning overhead and boats moored in the bay
Fireside on the sand

02

Reef and forest

Aerial view of a small forested island ringed by coral shallows, a curve of sand in the foreground
Reef, island and sand
Close portrait of a red ruffed lemur, its black face and amber eyes framed by rust-coloured fur
Red ruffed lemur

Masoala Forest Lodge

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