Palmarium Hotel Ankanin’Nofy
CEDARBERG RATING
Comfortable
Overview
Palmarium Hotel lies on the beautiful Lake Ampitabe (Ankanin'Nofy) within the Pangalanes canal complex. It is a great area to visit after Andasibe-Mantadia National Park because of the small private 46ha Palmarium Reserve. This reserve aims to showcase both the varied palm and orchid species in Madagascar - hence the name. Palmarium Reserve also has 10 different types of lemur, which have been introduced to the reserve so some of them are not indigenous to the eastern coast. They are also more habituated to human contact that the wildlife in the national park. However this does offer the visited the ability to get close-up photots which is not always possible in Andasibe and to see lemurs which you may not get to see if you are only visiting a couple of habitats.
This lodge now consists of two separate camps which are identical in standard and very similar views over the lake, both with a beach for swimming from. The newer camp, Palmarium Beach, has a setting on a long white sandy beach so ideal for people who like to soak up some rays. The original camp has the Palm and orchid tropical garden with many flowering orchids so perhaps better for keen botanists.
Each has spacious stone, bamboo and palm thatch chalets with en suite bathroom with shower, mosquito nets, double bed and an extra bed, private terrace with hammock and easy chairs. At each camps there’s a sitting room and restaurant serving good home-cooked food.
Activities at La Palmarium
Activities at Palmarium Lodge include guided morning walks in the 46 ha Palmarium Reserve (included) to see the various types of lemurs. We strongly recommend also taking the optional night walk (at extra cost) to see the rare nocturnal Aye Aye lemur. This gives you the best possible chance of spotting this eerie hairy golam-like creature.
During the day you can relax on the lodge’s sandy beach and enjoy swimming in the clear blue waters of the lake or perhaps some kayaking.
Access to Palmarium Lodge is only by boat, approx 1 hour from the south (ideal if coming from Andasibe which is another 3 hours by road to the boat connection) or 2 hours from Tomasina (Tamatave) in the north. The boat transfer is lovely and gives you a chance to experience the Pangalanes canal.
At A Glance
Beach within easy walking distance
Off the beaten track
Birding hotspot
Garden
Rural location
Walking Safari
Walking Trail
In Pictures
Palmarium Hotel Ankanin’Nofy on the map
Palmarium Lodge review
Happily I liked both the lodges at Palmarium. The original 11 bedroom lodge has an attractive palm and orchid reserve on site and I slightly preferred the rooms at the original lodge, though some newer rooms were identical to the new lodge's rooms. The lodge & gardens are up some steep steps from the small jetty and beach. So the lodge is hidden away in the trees with no real views of the lake except from the sandy area by the jetty.
The new lodge is called Palmarium Beach with each of the six chalets only a few steps behind a long stretch of white sandy beach. The rooms were very pleasant but more shaded so quite dark in the late afternoons before the power comes back on. The main building here is set above the beach up quite a few steps with lovely views over the lake. The only disadvantage is that it would be a fair walk from the main lodge to some of the furthest most chalets. This lodge would be better for people who enjoy soaking up the rays on the beach as each lodge has its own beach loungers and thatched sun shade.
Both lodges, like many lodges in Madagascar, operate on generator power and they tend to switch off the generator from late morning to late afternoon. This is not a major issue except you need to remember to charge batteries and phones at the right time.
