Vakona Forest Lodge
CEDARBERG RATING
Comfortable
Overview
The well-situated Vakona Forest Lodge lies 8 kilometres from Andasibe (Périnet), between Andasibe and the Mantadia National Park in Eastern Madagascar.
The charming main building has been designed around an octagonal reception area (common in Malagasy architecture) with a lounge, bar and restaurant with a huge fireplace in the middle to keep the airy space warm in winter. There’s also a small library. Outside you can relax on the veranda overlooking the forest and lake or around the large central swimming pool .
The sounds of the forest are amazing here – the lodge is set among trees, on the banks of a small river that runs into a lake. Quiet and peaceful with lots of birds and within earshot of the Indri’s haunting call, this is the perfect place to relax.
We recommend a couple of nights as you can visit both the nearby reserves of Andasibe and Mantadia from here. Activities at Vakona Forest Lodge include canoeing, horse riding, swimming, bowls, table tennis and billiards and there is a playing field for children. The hotel also has its own small wildlife reserve as well as ‘lemur island’ with habituated black and white lemurs and brown lemurs which are very relaxed, jumping onto your shoulders without the slightest hesitation.
At A Glance
Off the beaten track
Swimming pool
Rural location
Walking Safari
Walking Trail
In Pictures
Vakona Forest Lodge on the map
Rooms
28 Malagasy bungalows are scattered through a tropical garden of palm trees and bougainvillea. All are very simply furnished with tea/coffee facilities, a third bed in a small alcove area, bathroom with shower and heating for the winter months. These include 10 family bungalows with a mezzanine level for kids as well as 7 three-bedroomed bungalows for larger families. Each has an en suite shower room, mosquito nets, heating, safe and minibar. Outside there is a furnished veranda with chairs offering an alfresco sitting area.
Vakona Forest Lodge review
I stayed at both Andasibe Hotel and Vakona and can recommend both happily, but Vakona was my favourite, even though the rooms at Andasibe Hotel were much smarter. Why did I like Vakona more? I think it was the setting of the hotel, being more in the forest, the lakeside setting and ambience of the main octagonal building cantilevered over lake with a roaring central fireplace.
The main building had a lot of charm with sitting areas, a billiard table, restaurant serving good food and of course a lovely terrace overlooking the serene lake. The grounds are extensive with a lovely walking trail in the valley below the main approach road, canoes on the river, its own private lemur reserve (with very tame lemurs!) and also a separate nature reserve which is worth a visit, especially if you are a family, as we were.
The only thing to note is that rooms were pretty basic and not that attractive, mostly up plenty of steps so a nice workout if you forget something and need to go back! They have everything you need (and even offer hot water bottles in winter which was a nice touch) but they are small and rather characterless. But I felt that overall the lodge more than made up for this.
