Today was the big day: time to explore the Great Tsingys! After yesterday’s introduction to the smaller formations, we were ready to take things up a notch (or two).

It took us just under an hour by jeep to reach the entrance of the national park. At the parking area, we were first equipped with climbing harnesses and the necessary safety gear. Once everyone was properly strapped in, we set off on what initially looked like a rather leisurely walk through the surrounding forest.

There were a few animal encounters along the way, including some sifakas and various birds. A pleasant start, but we hadn’t come all this way just for a nature walk. After a while, we reached a cave which provided the entrance to the Tsingys proper. And that’s where things got interesting and the real adventure began.

The route quickly turned into a combination of climbing, scrambling and squeezing through the limestone formations. Several ladders led us upwards, with our harnesses permanently attached to the safety wires. From there, we moved between viewpoints, climbed over rocks and made our way through caves and narrow crevices.

There was very little shade up there. We were constantly exposed to the sun, with temperatures that felt close to 40°C. Not exactly ideal conditions for climbing around on sharp limestone rocks! The distances involved weren’t particularly long, but don’t let that fool you. This was physically and technically quite demanding in places, requiring a good sense of balance and sure-footedness. Some passages were rather exposed, and anyone with a fear of heights or vertigo would probably not have enjoyed the experience too much.

After working our way through the first sections, we stopped for lunch – in a cave, naturally. Not quite your usual picnic spot, but certainly a memorable one.

At some point afterwards, our group split up. While part of the group continued for a chance to see more wildlife – and, naturally, to take a few more photographs, the rest of us headed deeper into the limestone labyrinth.

And this turned out to be the absolute highlight of the day for me. We made our way through incredibly narrow, straight-line crevices, sometimes walking for hundreds of meters with towering limestone walls just a short distance apart. It was an almost surreal experience, moving through this maze of rock with hardly any room to spare. Quite unlike anything I had experienced before.

Eventually, we emerged from the labyrinth and made our way back through the park. By late afternoon, we were back at the hotel – just in time for a well-deserved dip in the pool and a bit of relaxation.

What an amazing day! The Small Tsingys had been a pretty impressive introduction, but the Great Tsingys were on a completely different level. The climbing, the caves and, above all, that walk through the narrow crevices made this one of the highlights of the entire trip. And to think that yesterday we thought we’d already seen quite a lot…