Arrival in Antananarivo from your international flight.
Welcome at the airport and transfer to your hotel.
Antananarivo – Andasibe (145km – 4h drive)
Meet at your hotel and we drive to the Perinet special reserve through a myriad of villages and admire the traditional lifestyle of the Malagasy people. All along the way, rice paddies, chimney-less long clay red houses and millions of roadside markets displaying a variety of handicrafts, fruit and meat markets- all this against a pretty backdrop of golden grasslands and granite inselbergs.
On the way, stop and visit the Peyrieras farm where you can easily see reptiles and have chance to approach lemurs at feeding times.
Continuation towards Andasibe and lunch at your expenses (suggestion: Au coq d’Or, Moramanga)
Arrive in Andasibe in the middle of the afternoon and installation at the hotel
Night stroll for wildlife watching (1h to 1h30 walking)
Andasibe
The park of Andasibe gathers 2 protected areas: the National Park of Mantadia and the Special Reserve of Analamazoatra (or the Perinet reserve). In the early morning we start with a walk through the Perinet reserve to spot the Indri-Indri (the largest lemur specie) – for 1h30 walking in the forest.
Then, we continue with the visit of the Mantadia reserve (2h30 walking). In the park, there are 12 different species of lemurs (nocturnal and diurnal) and also 120 bird species with an endemic rate of 50 %. Tenrecs (sort of hedgehog) and chameleons come across your way too, and you enjoy the primary forest curiosities such as trees ferns, lichens, epiphyte orchids (angraecum, bulbophyllums,…), medicinal plants, or precious woods like Dalbergia.
Lunch at your expenses (suggestions: picnic ordered at the hotel, local restaurant in Andasibe or late at the hotel)
Afternoon to visit the Vakona Forest Lodge private reserve with the lemur island (1h walk with a short canoe crossing)
Andasibe – Antsirabe (316km – 8h drive approx.)
After breakfast, we leave the Andasibe rainforest and hit the road towards the Great South.
Discovery of the typical highlands sceneries with rice paddies and traditional red clay houses
Lunch at your expenses (suggestion: Coin du foie gras Behenjy, duck liver and magret specialties)
Stop in the tiny city of Ambatolampy at the foot of the Ankaratra massif (3rd highest summit of the island) and visit of a local/Family aluminum factory
Continuation to Antsirabe the thermal city and arrive at the end of the day
Antsirabe – Ranomafana (230km – 7h/7h30 drive approx)
Introduction to Antsirabe and its story in the morning ; Famous for its thermal springs, the city economically burst at the arrival of the Norwegian Missionaries, who developed some pastures thanks to the fresh altitude climate. The French developed a thermal complex along the Ranomafana Lake, where the buildings still remain. Visit of local artcraft: semi precious stone cutting, embroidery and sweets factory. Continuation to Ambositra, noted primarily for the master woodcarvers and furniture manufacturing. The Zafimaniry Capital is a veritable work of art, with shutters and walls carved in geometric designs.
After spare lunch (suggestion: local restaurant between Ambositra/Ranomafana), we shall drive to Ranomafana. This pleasant resort offers an open air museum, shelter for various wildlife and endemic plants. Like Antsirabe, Ranomafana has been served as thermal bath.
Ranomafana – Sahambavy (81km – 3h30/4h drive approx.)
Early in the morning, we have a visit the National park of Ranomafana (2h30 to 3h excursion with 1h30/2h walking), located on a rain forested uphill that lies at an altitude of 800 to 1200 meters. Ranomafana National Park was created in 1990; thanks to the discovery in 1986 of the “golden bamboo lemur” (his scientific name is Hapalemur Aureus). This particular and amazing specie of lemur has a strange eating habits and can’t be seen somewhere else.
Lunch at your expenses (suggestions: local restaurant in Ranomafana), we’ll leave Ranomafana and drive to the tea plantations of Sahambavy.
Sahambavy – Andringitra (Tsaranoro part) (131km – 5h30/6h drive approx.)
In the morning, visit of the tea plantations with the factory and then road to Fianarantsoa with visiting the old city (UNESCO World Heritage), founded 1830 under the same model as the city of Antananarivo to be an intermediate capital between Tanà and the remote southern provinces ; Continuation and stop in Ambalavao – Visit of a hand made papyrus factory called “Papier Antaimoro”. Invented by the Antaimoro tribe, this paper is made from the rainforest trees and was used by astrologers to script and record their predictions. Today it is used mainly for decoration.
Lunch at your expenses (suggestion: Aux Bougainvillea, Ambalavao), we take the road to Andringitra
Andringitra (Tsaranoro valley) (4 to 8h walk depending on you fitness)
Day dedicated to the visit of the massif: you will choose your itinerary on site between a range of classified routes depending on your fitness and interest: view points, rice and cassava fields, lemurs, village, forest and natural pool
Lunch at your expenses (suggestions: picnic or at the hotel)
Andringitra – Ranohira (Isalo) (208km – 5h30/6h drive approx)
We take the vehicle and take the road down to Isalo.
On the way we have a stop and visit the Anja village reserve famous for its Maki Catta.
Lunch at your expenses (suggestion: picnic ordered at the camp)
We get over the “Porte du Sud”, crossing the Plateau of Horombe. We arrive at Ranohira at the end of the day and settle to the hotel
Day fully devoted to the visit of the Isalo National Park. Ruin form rocks wildly carved by the wind and the rain give strange shapes to this oldest geographic formation
You will choose your itinerary on site between a range of classified routes depending on your fitness and interests: natural pool circus, canyons, lemurs...
Lunch at your expenses - picnic from hotel
Ranohira (Isalo) – Toliary – Ifaty (284km – 5h drive including 1h track)
After breakfast, we’ll leave Ranohira and pass by the new village of Ilakaka which has experienced the rapid demographic increase because of the existence of Safire mines exploration. On route you’ll see baobabs and the funerary art of the south ethnics represented into typical tombs “fasambezo”, encircled by erotic funerary carvings to express life and fertility of the deceased.
Lunch at your expenses in Tulear (suggestions: Corto Maltesse, Etoile de Mer or definitely late in Ifaty)
Continuation to Ifaty along the “Vezo” village and installation at your hotel
We strongly advise our clients against the visit of the shells market. The shells and coral displayed are the result of a massive destruction of the coral reef around Tulear and Ifaty. By any show of interest we shall encourage pillage
Note: Say good bye to your guide today as he will drive back to Tana tomorrow.
Transfer to the airport by the hotel (depending on the flight schedule) and take off to Tana.
