I could have easily spent a lot longer at Yalatsara but we were on our way to Ranomafana. The winding road skirted the edge of one side of the valley that was Ranomafana National Park. The valley and surrounding hills were covered in dense rainforest which I was keen to explore.
Madagascar's geography explains why the east of the island is rich rainforest whereas the west is much drier and in the far south resembles a desert. The country has a spine of mountains running, as you'd expect, down the middle known as the Central Highlands. Rainfall coming in from the Indian Ocean is prevented going any further by this mountainous range and creates the hot, humid and wet conditions necessary for a rainforest in the east. As the west receives a lack of rainfall it forms a much more different landscape. There is a lot more to the geography of Madagascar which I won't go in to, but you get the idea.
On our second full day in Ranomafana we were treated to an amazing sunrise (for those of us that got up to see it that is) over the village. The photos below were taken from the window of my bedroom - I was lucky with where I was staying...