IMAGES: GETTY; YUKI SUGUIRAjungle
At Tree Tops Jungle Lodge in Sri
Lanka, lying in a hammock
surrounded by the squawks of
wildlife is the perfect way to
relax. Deforestation has plagued
the coastline, but here, a glorious
swathe of jungle has been
restored. treetopsjunglelodge.com
kreol culture
Mauritius is awash with European
influences, but at Zilwa Attitude
hotel, indigenous culture comes
first. Kreol proverbs decorate the
bedroom walls and staff organise
language lessons and visits to
locals’ homes. hotels-attitude.com
mayotte
The steep, volcanic peaks of
this island — a French overseas
department — are popular with
hikers. Below them are fertile
slopes, fragrant with vanilla and
cloves and lush with banana,
papaya and jackfruit trees.
A nighttime safari in Madagascar reveals another side of the rainforest:
this biodiverse African island is the endemic home of the lemur, one of
the world’s most endangered mammal groupsNocturnal lemurs peer down at me
with a pointed stare. I’m tiptoeing
through a patch of ancient Madagascan
rainforest, flicking my torchlight
through the trees, and tiny lights are
beaming steadily back at me: eyeshine.
As I approach the closest pair of eyes,
details appear: the round, furry face
and long, fluffy tail of a mouse lemur.
“Let’s continue,” says Sesen, my
guide, who has known this forest since
childhood. “It’s best not to dazzle them
for long. A snake may be watching.”
In Madagascar, it’s perfectly possible
to wander along forest paths at night.
In fact, I’d highly recommend it.
Elsewhere in the tropics, a nocturnal
forest walk can be terrifying, with
creepy-crawlies, venomous snakes
and dangerous mammals to watch
out for. But in Madagascar, no such
worries apply — if you’re a human,
that is. If you’re a lemur, you need to
watch out. Here in Madagascar’s central
highlands, mouse lemurs live alongside
Malagasy tree boas, non-venomous
snakes that can grow to over two metres
long. The boas have thermoreceptive
pits that allow them to work out exactly
where their prey is.
“Don’t worry — I’ve never known
our snakes to attack people”, saysSesen, as if reading my mind. Relieved,
I tiptoe onwards.
Planning this nocturnal adventure
was as simple as waiting for nightfall
and following Sesen into the forest.
As the darkness deepens, I’m glad
to be accompanied by a guide with
a calm attitude and a good sense of
direction. Everything looks different
by torchlight. A panther chameleon
wobbling on a twig looks monstrous,
and owl screeches sound like screams.
The next morning, I wake from a
dream of swimming in the ocean with
whales calling all around. As I blink
awake, the dream fades, but the sounds
remain. Fuzzily, I recognise it. My
cabin at Saha Forest Camp overlooks
a curtain of trees that’s home to the
indri, Madagascar’s largest and most
vocal lemur. Lemurs flourished on this
island, but illegal activities like mining
have whittled away their habitat,
leaving their numbers threatened. To
have seen — and heard — them in the
wild is indeed the stuff of dreams.
HOW TO DO IT: Rainbow Tours can
arrange a 17-day escorted wildlife-
watching tour of Madagascar
from £4,520 per person, including
accommodation, flights and domestic
transport. rainbowtours.co.ukLEMURS
nightlife
Mombasa is the buzzing centre
of Kenya’s coastal party scene.
Check out Tapas Cielo bar in the
Nyali area, Moonshine beach bar
at The Reef Hotel Mombasa and
Shots Bar in the Bamburi area.
tapascielo.com reefhotelkenya.com
FROM LEFT: Sri Lankan leopard
on a branch, Yala National Park,
Sri Lanka; a ring-tailed lemur
carries a baby on its back,
Berenty Reserve, Madagascar;
prawn fritters served with
lemon wedges100 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
INDIAN OCEAN