Inside the world's largest STONE forest, where tropical rain has eroded rocks into 300ft razor-sharp spikes

Isolated and inhospitable, this huge collection of razor-sharp vertical rocks looks like the last place where wildlife would thrive.

The colossal 'Grand Tsingy' landscape in western Madagascar is the world's largest stone forest, where high spiked towers of eroded limestone tower over the greenery.

But despite its cold, dangerous appearance, the labyrinth of 300ft stones is home to a number of animal species, including 11 types of lemur.

Its name, 'Tsingy' translates as 'where one cannot walk', due to the hazardous formations of razor-sharp pinnacles made from limestone which have been eroded by tropical rain.

Explorer and photographer Stephen Alvarez captured the beauty of the Grand Tsingy when he went there as part of an expedition for National Geographic.

As well as the dramatic backdrop of the 230-square mile limestone landscape, he also photographed lemurs leaping from rock to rock as part of their natural home in the Tsingy de Bemaraha national park.

Stephen, 47, said: 'There's forest within those rocks and animals including families of lemurs live within it.

'It's an unbelievable experience to watch them, they forage in the forest in the day and jump like acrobats from the sharp pinnacles where they sit at night.

I'd never seen a landscape like it. 'My first impression was thank god, it was more tremendous than I had ever imagined and I knew straight away I would be able to get some fantastic photos.

Stephen said the Tsingy was so remote it took him five days to reach it from Madagascar's capital and it was so difficult to explore it took a whole day to walk just half a mile.

'It's like a cave without a roof, it gets a tremendous amount of tropical rain that has eroded the rock into these sharp rock pinnacles.

'The rocks themselves are really sharp, they stick up like giant steak knives. It is one of the most difficult places I've ever explored.'

As well as lemurs, the Tsingy de Bemaraha national park is also home to the small carnivorous falanouc, the ring-tailed mongoose, and several bats.

More than 100 species of bird have also been recorded as living in the park, along with 45 species of reptile.