Situated in western Madagascar, the subject of geological fascination and scientific wonderment, the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is well-suited for the robust explorer. Its canyons, gorges, swamps, forests and lakes are home to an astonishing array of fauna and flora, many of which have not been fully recorded. This is mainly due to the largely impenetrable labyrinth of limestone ‘forests’ that make up the Great and Little Tsingy of which the park consists. The tsingys (tsingy means ‘where man cannot walk barefoot’) are karstic plateaus whose groundwater has gouged out caverns and fissures into the limestone over millennia. It may be a tough trek, but it’s worth it to see the diverse variety of lemurs, more than 100 bird species – including the endangered Madagascar fish eagle – and around 45 reptile and amphibian species.