IMAGES: GETTY; YUKI SUGUIRA


INDIAN OCEAN


jungle 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


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 wedges


LEMURS


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 groups


Nocturnal 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


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.


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 reefotelkenya.com


100 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel


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”, says


Sesen, 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.uk


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