Calm Rain in the Rainforest of Madagascar

The rainforests of central Madagascar can be extremely humid, even by rainforest standards. As you climb up into cloud forest territory, torrential downpours team up with the constant fog and cloud cover to create an environment that is virtually never dry.

Hiking here is hard work, as there are rarely any paths and the terrain is treacherous and slippery. While there is plenty of wildlife in these small pockets of forest, everything is eerily quiet. If you walk slowly and pay attention to the soundscape, you will notice distant bird calls or the occasional frog croak. There may be few insects calling too, but muted and soft. By far the most common element is water dripping off vegetation. If you take a minute and slow down your breath, you will be able to hear subtle variations in the sounds of water. Droplets falling on the ground sound muted and soft. When they fall on small vegetation there is a bit more high frequency content. Twigs vibrate and create loud clicks. Big solid leaves have hollow resonance. Gusts of wind approaching sound deep, and as they make contact the density of water drop sounds grows.