Planned expeditions
Here we would like to present which expeditions we will undertake this year in Madagascar to find animals, take photos and collect further data. And of course, which chameleon species can be found on the expeditions. If you would like to join us and experience Madagascar and its chameleons up close, please feel free to contact us. And don’t worry – our accommodations are quite normal and a cold beer is always waiting for us when we come back from the forest. Our trips to Madagascar are run by Tanalahorizon. Tanalahorizon has 29 years of travel and chameleon experience on the island, so you are in the very best hands.
Call of the jungle
Period: 01.-21. March 2025 fully booked
(three weeks)
Maximum 10 participants
In 2025, we will be taking a chameleon trip through five different rainforests and dry forests in Madagascar. This trip is all about very rare animals, rediscoveries and new discoveries.
Our journey starts with the long journey through the northern highlands of Madagascar to the west of the country. In the dry forest of Ankarafantsika we experience Furcifer rhinoceratus and Furcifer oustaleti as well as the leaf chameleon Brookesia decaryi, while we acclimatise to the heat of the west. Then we continue to the coastal town of Mahajanga. Our destination is largely unexplored forests where the extremely rare Furcifer angeli lives. Well, and also Crowned Sifakas, we don’t just want to photograph reptiles. We are also looking for a recently rediscovered, very special chameleon: Furcifer voeltzkowi. It was thought to be extinct for decades! Fortunately, we know exactly the best spots to find this chameleon species.
Next, we head east to the famous rainforest of Andasibe. Here we mainly visit small, less-visited protected areas that are not even noticed by the majority of travellers. However, there are some very special animals to be found in these unnoticed forests: Calumma malthe, Calumma furcifer and the Calumma roaloko, which was only discovered in 2018, are waiting for us to discover them in the dense jungle. Of course, we will also experience Madagascar’s gentle giants, Calumma parsonii cristifer and Calumma parsonii parsonii, in their natural habitat between diademed sifakas and singing Indris. To relax, we then take a boat along the Canal des Pangalanes to visit a small paradise on Lake Ampitabe. The “nest of dreams” is not only full of lovely people and very close lemurs, it is also home to a particularly beautiful local form of panther chameleons and an as yet undescribed species of leaf chameleon. The Vohibola reserve, where the eponymic Calumma vohibola lives, is in the immediate neighbourhood. We are already looking forward to this fantastic journey of discovery. Join us and discover Madagascar’s chameleons!
Calumma emelinae
This beautiful little chameleon is common in the eastern highlands.
Furcifer voeltzkowi
This species was considered lost for over 100 years – we found it!
Furcifer angeli
These beautiful animals can be found near Mahajanga in western Madagascar.
Furcifer pardalis
We will visit the beautiful local form of Ampitabe at the lake of the same name.
Furcifer willsii
A small species of chameleon that lives in the eastern highlands of Madagascar.
Calumma parsonii parsonii
We will visit the colour variant yellow giant in Vohimana.
Calumma parsonii parsonii
Of course, we also experience the well-known colour variant of the Parson’s, the orange eyes.
Calumma brevicorne
A common, medium-sized chameleon that we are sure to encounter in Andasibe.
Calumma gastrotaenia
A smaller but no less beautiful chameleon from the rainforests of the East.
Calumma roaloko
A small species that was only described a few years ago.
Calumma malthe
A beautiful species that we often discover near watercourses.
Calumma gallus
A beautiful species of chameleon that we can find in the Vohimana reserve.
Brookesia superciliaris
Madagascar’s largest leaf chameleon is easy to find in the rainforest of Analamazaotra.
Calumma parsonii cristifer
We will also encounter the second subspecies of Parson’s chameleon.
Calumma nasutum
This species is much rarer in the rainforest than previously thought.
Calumma furcifer
We will look for this fascinating but very rare species in the eastern highlands.
Calumma vohibola
This small chameleon species is only found in a tiny forest and is difficult to find.
Brookesia therezieni
A common species in the rainforest of the eastern highlands.
Furcifer lateralis
This chameleon can be found on the outskirts of the capital Antananarivo.
Brookesia cf. bonsi
We have already found this as yet undescribed species of ground chameleon near Mahajanga.
Furcifer rhinoceratus
A fascinating species from the dry forest of Ankarafantsika.
Brookesia decaryi
A small, very pretty leaf chameleon species from the north-west.
Furcifer oustaleti
Madagascar’s most common chameleon can be found all over the island.