Red-brown Tsingy rock formations, Madagascar

A tsingy of beauty

The Malagasy word 'tsingy,' used to describe irregular, eroded blades of stone like these, translates to 'where you can't walk barefoot.' Ever since humans first settled here sometime over a millennium ago, the unfriendly karst terrain has served to keep most of us out of the Tsingy Rouge region—allowing Madagascar's unique array of wildlife to flourish in its countless nooks and crannies. Here on the world's fourth-largest island, 90% of the fauna is found nowhere else on Earth, so this is heaven to any naturalist with a good pair of boots.