Whether it is a stroll down the famed Avenue de Baobabs just outside Morondava, staring up at a line of giant trees more than a thousand years old, or watching lemurs hop from tree to tree while floating down the Tsiribihina River in a dug-out, Madagascar’s hard-to-reach western region offers plenty of reasons to visit.

Divided in two parts, with no roads linking the northern and southern portions, travel here is no easy feat  — unless you’re wealthy enough to charter a private plane. But should you attempt, it is well worth the effort, as you’ll likely have this sci-fi landscape of spiked and spired karst forests and miles of white sand beaches bumping up against a tomato bisque hued sea (sadly a result of erosion and pollution, but striking looking none the less) mostly to yourself.

Here are three top reasons to visit Madagascar’s “wild west.”

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