Upon arrival into Ivato Airport you will be greeted by an English speaking guide who will accompany you to your hotel in the upper town of Antananarivo. ‘Tana’ – as the locals call it has fascinating traditional architecture and a more Indonesian influence than the rest of Madagascar. Maison Gallieni is a restored colonial mansion with an elegant mix of modern and traditional décor. Take a dip in the pool and enjoy the lovely views over the city before dinner.
After an early breakfast, meet with your English speaking guide, then go to explore the historical upper town of Antananarivo, with its stunning French inspired architecture. After lunch, your guide will take you east to Andasibe, a stunning rainforest park, about 4 hours’ drive from the city. The park consists of two protected areas, the Perinet Special Reserve and Mantadia National Park. Perinet is world famous for its population of Indri lemurs, which are the largest living lemur species. The journey to Andasibe offers first time visitors to Madagascar a gentle introduction to rural life with rice fields, redbrick houses and roadside stalls selling seasonal fruits and vegetables lining the route. First touch of the Andasibe protected area with a night walk to make an overview night lives of the fauna.
After breakfast you will head to Mantadia National Park (1.5 hour drive). Look for some of the lemur species in this stunning park including the Indri indri, diademed sifaka, grey bamboo lemur, red-bellied lemur and white ruffed lemur. While the trails are slightly more difficult, the rewards are great as the forest is taller, wilder and less crowded than Perinet. There are an abundance of birds including the scaly ground roller, the pitta-like ground roller and the breasted coua. This is a naturalist’s goldmine with many seldom seen species of mammals, reptiles and birds. Enjoy a picnic by the Rianasoa Waterfall before hiking back to the vehicle and return to the lodge. In the afternoon, enjoy a visit to Lemur Island, Vakona Lodge’s private reserve that protects a number of habituated lemurs. There are four species to see, the bamboo lemur, the black & white ruffed lemur, brown lemur and one diademed sifaka. Then, to continue for a night walk to discover another species of lemurs, reptiles...
After breakfast, enjoy a visit to the 810 ha Perinet Reserve with a local guide in search of the Indri indri. With a barely visible tail, black and white markings and a surprised teddy–bear face, this lemur is one of the few animals in the world that cannot survive in captivity. There are another 11 species of lemur to spot as you walk through the rainforest. You may find a troop of grey bamboo lemurs, common brown lemur, diademed sifaka and the black and white ruffed lemur. Birdwatchers should look out for the velvet asity, the blue coua and the Nuthatch vanga and many more endemic species. Perinet is home to many reptiles, invertebrates, and some of Madagascar’s over a thousand orchid species. Then, visit the VOI reserve run by villagers, which is an untouched paradise for endemic animals and plants. Groups of Indri indri, the biggest endemic lemur of Madagascar can be watched here in its natural habitat, as well as the Diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) or the wooly lemurs (Avahi laniger) … Not to mention reptiles, amphibians …A night walk will be organized in late evening in the forest surrounding the reserve with a local guide. You will see a variety of nocturnal lemurs: mouse lemurs, white footed sportive lemur, fat-tailed dwarf lemur, as well as the woolly lemur.
After an early breakfast, drive back to Antananarivo and to Ivato Airport (4 – 5 hours) in time for your private charter flight to Ifotaka (3 hours). Upon arrival you will be met by our guide and vehicle and transfer to the camp. Settle into your tent and enjoy the majestic views over the Mandrare River. Around 5pm you will depart for a night walk in the Forest of Zenavo. This is a fantastic way to see diurnal lemurs bedding down, and the nocturnal lemurs begin to wake in the eerie and prehistoric spiny forest. You will spot sifakas and sleeping white-foot sportive lemurs, then once the sun has set, two mouse lemur species, sleeping birds, chameleons, owls and now active sportive lemurs.
After breakfast you will head out to the stunning sacred gallery forest to the south of the camp. Depending on the river depth, you will walk or take a boat across the Mandrare River to reach this largely deciduous forest. Inquisitive groups of ring tailed lemurs and the always entertaining Verreaux sifaka are the highlight of this excursion. Return to camp for lunch and a relaxed afternoon by the pool. In late afternoon, head for a walk through the sacred spiny forest filled with the ancestral tombs of the local Antandroy tribe, as well as an extraordinary array of flora and fauna, unique to the spiny forest. Your English speaking guide and a tracker from the local community will give you an introduction to Antandroy culture and customs. Your visit is followed by sundowners amidst the baobabs watching the sun set and moon rise with a view across the baobabs to the mountains beyond is a magical experience.
After a sumptuous breakfast, visit to the local market or the local village to meet the fascinating Antandroy tribe. Then, depart to the stunning Lac Anony. This salt water lake is separated from the Indian Ocean by a series of large sand dunes and is home to Greater Flamingos and a variety of salt water birds. The lake is a two hour drive from the camp. On arrival, walk along the lake shore to a beautiful picnic spot. Then scale the 70 foot high sand dunes for an incredible view of the surrounding area and go for a swim the lake. In the evening the local village may come to perform beautiful traditional dances, accompanied by singing and music. Song and dance is at the heart of Antandroy culture and is used to accompany the major rituals and events of everyday life.
Today you will transfer back to Ifotaka airstrip in time for your private charter flight to Morondava (3 hours). Upon arrival you will meet with your guide and transfer to your hotel. Morondava is situated in the west of the country, on the delta of the river of the same name at the edge of the Mozambique Channel. Morondava was the centre of the Sakalava kingdom and is known for its elaborately sculpted wooden royal tombs. These tombs are frequently decorated with well-executed, often erotic, funerary carvings representing life and fertility. In the afternoon, pirogue excursion to the mangrove and the fishermen village of Betania. Late in the afternoon, drive about 20km to the Avenue of the Baobabs for a beautiful sunset and fantastic photo opportunities. This is the most iconic view of Madagascar.
Early wake-up to spot the sunrise along the Avenue of Baobabs. Breakfast in a basket, with your English speaking guide, drive 50km to the north-east of Morondava to the Kirindy Reserve. This is a privately managed forest that is known as the best place in Madagascar to see the elusive fossa. It is also home to the very cute Madagascar Giant Jumping Rat, endemic to this forest, and 8 lemur species including Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur which is endemic to Kirindy. Birdwatchers will enjoy the 70 bird species including the rare White-Breasted Mesite. The landscape is dry deciduous forest interspersed with towering baobab trees. Three out of the island’s seven baobab species are found here. Provide a leisurely local lunch, and in the afternoon, you will drive back to Morondava.
Early flight back to Tana by private charter flight (2hours). Assistance at Ivato Airport in time for your charter to continue to Anjajavy OR Direct flight from Morondava to Anjajavy. Upon arrival you will be greeted by a hotel staff member and transferred to the lodge. Anjajavy Lodge is located within a 450 hectare nature reserve on Madagascar’s north-west coast. The lodge’s 25 duplex, rosewood villas all have private decks overlooking the ocean. Meals can be served in an enclosed oasis in the hotel grounds or on the beach. The surrounding forest is alive with lemurs, chameleons, malachite kingfishers and hummingbirds. At 5:30 pm you will depart for a night walk in the reserve to spot a variety of nocturnal lemurs. While the reserve’s show-stoppers are undoubtedly the charismatic coquerel’s sifakas, the hours of darkness also have their star performers. Weighing a mere 63 grams, danfoss mouse lemurs scamper about in the shrubbery around the reserve just after nightfall, springing from branch to branch, quick as a flash, in search of food. If you hear a strange squeal coming from the tree tops, then you have probably found a Grewcock’s sportive lemur. Other mammals to spot are the endemic tsingy tuft-tailed rat, Commerson’s leaf-nosed bat, or Madagascar’s largest predator - the rare and elusive fossa.
This morning, depart for a walk along the ‘Chemin des Crabes’ to see the fabulous birdlife, beautiful baobabs and of course, the famous hairy crab. Even if bird watching isn’t your thing, you can’t help but be enchanted by the kaleidoscope of colours and shapes of the reserve’s common birds, from the vibrant red fody and Souimanga sunbird to the exotic paradise flycatcher and sickle-billed vanga. It is one of the best places to spot the regal Madagascar fish eagle, shy crested Ibis, or rare Madagascar sacred Ibis. At the end of the walk, you will visit a small cave where you will find a fossilized lemur skull, stalactites and sharks’ teeth. You will return to the lodge for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.
This morning you will enjoy a long walk along the Giant’s Causeway and King’s Alley. You will discover extremely ancient baobab trees, tsingy rock formations found only in Madagascar, along with a variety of lemurs including the Coquerel’s sifakas. These remarkable animals live in family groups of up to 10 individuals, and though they are perfectly adapted to life in the trees they often descend to the ground too. Unlike the famous Verreaux’s sifaka from southern Madagascar with its characteristic sideways dance, the Coquerel’s sifaka bounces across the ground like a mini kangaroo! The sifakas, along with troops of common brown lemurs, roam freely in the gardens and surrounding reserve. You will return to the lodge for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.
At 9:30 am, transfer to the airstrip for your morning flight to Tana by private charter. Upon arrival at Tana airport, you will be met by a representative, who will assist you in checking in for your outbound flight.
Day room near the airport until the flight.
