The reserve was designated in 1958 and contains some of the last intact primary rainforest, along with several, rare and endemic animals and plants.

The area was nominated to the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in Madagascar in 2008, as an extension of the rainforests of the Atsinanana.

The special reserve of Anjanahraibe-Sud is located in the Sava Region in north-eastern Madagascar, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-west of the village of Andapa.

[2] One of the rarest species is a small tree with aromatic leaves, Takhtajania perrieri, which is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The tree is estimated to have evolved 120 million years ago.