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If you were to travel in a straight line from Madagascar’s south coast, you wouldn’t hit any land until Antarctica. That’s pretty cool – but what’s even cooler are the bizarre landscapes of the Mandrare Valley. We’re talking spiny forests, enclaves of exotic flora, baobab-scattered basins and of course, more than a smattering of the island’s most iconic wildlife. The region is probably most famous for the Berenty Reserve, one of Mada’s first ever eco-tourism destinations and now the protector of a swathe of tamarind gallery forest and one of the best places to see habituated ringtail and Verreaux sifaka lemurs at close range. The area is also the stomping ground of the pastoralist Antandroy people who have a complex network of taboos and tradition that are fascinating to watch at play.