ADVENTURE
Trekking
17 days/16 nights
An adventure tour in Madagascar offers a unique and unforgettable experience, blending wildlife, culture, and stunning natural landscapes. The island is renowned for its diverse ecosystems, ranging from rainforests and deserts to pristine beaches and dramatic cliffs. Here are some highlights and options for an adventure tour in Madagascar
Itinerary :
D 1 : Antananarivo -Antsirabe
Meeting with your guide.
We have breakfast in the hotel and start heading south passing through Antananarivo.
Rice fields and typical villages of the Highlands represent the landscape right after Antananarivo.
We stop in Ambatolampy to discover the rather amazing work of aluminum to make cooking pot for the whole country.
We take lunch in town. Continuation towards Antsirabe in the afternoon.
We take our time for a city tour and experience “pousse-pousse” (rick shaw) riding for those who want, it is the main transport for locals. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 2 and 3 : Ihasy Valley and Mont Ibity
We start the Trek in Madagascar from Ihasy village. First contact with the area on the first day, we walk through different villages to meet locals and learn about their everyday activities.
We head to Mount Ibity the next day. The massif is about 20 km from north to south, we hike along the hillside to ” the Grand Tombeaux ” mountain pass, go on on the crest to the south and towards the peak. Ibity is amongst mounts with different peaks, the rock in front or behind seem higher when you reach the summit. We go back down hill to Ihasy Valley.
We spend two nights in a gîte, these rare local gîte always have simple but warm welcome, food made in a rural way, locals often come to meet you, so evening parties are with local dance and singings. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 4 : Antsirabe – Zafimaniry country
We say goodbye to our host and drive towards Zafimaniry country. We pass through Ambositra and go on until we reach Antoetra. We take a local guide from there and hike to Zafimaniry villages. The particularty here, is the traditional wooden houses which doors and windows are carved with geometrical carvings having specific meanings in their culture. The guide will inform us about them. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 5 and D6 : Trekking in Zafimaniry country
We continue for two days of hiking in the Zafimaniry.
The porters help us carry our luggage and food as well as set up our mobile camp. We will go from village to village, along the many paths. In the green rice fields and crops, we meet along the way villagers, farmers and zebus.
The Zafimaniry are renowned for their work of the rosewood. At the exit of the villages, children often accompany us for a few moments of joyful exchanges.
We set up camp the first night near a small village. The next night is at the hotel near Antoetra. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 7 : Antoetra – Anja Reserve
We are back on road N7 and pass through Fianarantsoa town. We stop in Ambalavao for lunch, it is a very pleasant nice little town. We then continue to Anja reserve and we set up our camp on this granit mass foothill. By late afternoon, we make a incursion into the forest where some playful families of ring-tailed lemurs found home. We also have the opportunity to meet them the next morning before we start hiking.
The Anja reserve is managed directly by the villagers. Profits allow the improvement of the living conditions of the surrounding villages. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 8 to D11 : Anja Reserve – Tsaranoro Valley 7 to 8h daily walk
Anja Reserve is located at twenty kilometers south of Ambalavao. Groups of lemurs live in a nice forest at the bottom of a huge granite rock blocks. We learn about local customs of Betsileo and also Bara tribes. The latter bury the deceaseds inside natural caves in the rock cliff after fairly complex rituals. The local guide will give us more details.
We climb rocks without difficulty until the pass. Many interesting hikes are possible around.
This Reserve is run directly by villagers. All profit goes to improve the local people’s life conditions in the surrounding. We follow to Tsaranoro valley in the afternoon. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 12 : Andringitra – Tsaranoro Valley
We leave the massif behind us and join the valley of Tsaranoro. Six plant formations are represented in this area of great richness. Researchers listed 20 species of mammals, of which 4 of them are endemic to the massif, and also 62 species of birds. The most strange plants of the area are Kalanchoe, aloes and pachypodium. The plain is full of terrestrial orchids. The huge granite domes make of these mountains with narrow valleys, an amazing sight, especially at sunrise and sunset. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 13 : Tsaranoro Valley – Ranohira
It is the road to the South today, that of wide spaces. We have breakfast in the hotel and then drive back on the same track to reach the main road, pass by the South gates to Ihosy town before getting through Ihorombe plateau. From one mountain to another. The Isalo is in front of us, the day comes to its end and the sunset should be great! Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 14 and D15 : 6 to 7 hour of walking.
Picnic lunch. Half board accommodation at the hotel.
D 16 : Ranohira – Tulear
We go on south and visit the “window of Isalo”, it is an eroded rock as a window shape that opens onto a fabulous scenery landscape of deserted valleys stretching to the horizon. We then progress to the south and pass through the surprising Ilakaka village. It was a rush related with the sapphire mining which attracted more than 100 000 people in the early 2000s. Now the enthusiasm is down. We stop on the way to see Mahafaly tribe typical tombs so nicely painted and decorated, on which are erected some amazing wooden sculptures. Arrive in Tuléar in the afternoon. Stroll around in town before reaching the hotel. Dinner and night at the hotel.
D 17 : Nosy Be – Antananarivo
Relaxed morning before transfer organised by the hotel to the airport.
Fly to the capital of Madagascar.1h15 de vol