1000 Views of Madagascar

DAY 2: Natural Reserve of Andasibe A morning visit to the Special Reserve of Andasibe, to see the Indri Indri, the largest lemurs on the island. This 810 ha reserve is unique with its endemic fauna and flora. It contains a wide variety of orchids, canopy, and endemic animals like chameleons, tenrecs, and many birds. After the visit we walk through the orchid park to admire all the nice flowers. In the afternoon, we visit Andasibe village, a typical Betsimisaraka (The-Many-inseparable) village, and the second largest tribe on the island. They cultivate rice and live mainly off the forest. This small visit helps us to have contact with the local people, to see how they live and what they eat. Overnight at the same hotel. B Accommodation: Vakona Forest Lodge (bungalows surrounded by the forest, with en-suite bathrooms, and veranda).

DAY 4: Antsirabe to Ranomafana National Park After breakfast we drive to Ambositra, the centre of Madagascar's wood carving industry. We are still in the highland, which is characterized by its architecture: The houses are made with ornately carved wooden balconies and shutters with bright colours. Further on we pass the ‘le col de tapia’, a type of tree, which resists to the bush fires of the area. The landscape is still dominated by rice fields on stage, pine forests and eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains.   We are taking a turn-off from the main road. Before we reach our destination for the day: Ranomafana National Park. B      Accommodation: Setam Lodge (rooms with e-suite bathrooms).  

DAY 6: Fianarantsoa – Isalo We leave Ranomafana using the road that entered on, and pass Fianarantsoa ‘the city where one learns good things’. It is the gate to the South and the capital of the Betsileo tribes. This is the centre of the catholic religion and most of the best schools are found here. Then we head southwards, our first stop is in Ambalavao to visit a wine industry for wine tasting, as Ambalavao is the centre of wine industry. The climate is not said to be ideal for grape vines but it is a tradition left by priests and monks, who lived in the area of Fianarantsoa. Still in Ambalavao, we visit the ‘Anteimoro Paper Factory’ a vestige of the Arabian civilisation in the island. We continue to Ihosy the capital of the Bara tribes, who are the shepherds of Zebu, and pass through the mountain chain of Andringitra, which serves as a transition between the dry south and green highlands with its famous ‘3 hillocks’ and its huge ‘archbishop's cape’. Along the way we will see afar a spectacular huge granite dome with twin rock towers called: ‘the gate of the south’, which marks the end of the highland and the beginning of the south. The other imposing one is the ‘Bishop's hat’, which is a sacred place for the local people, as it is a place where their ancestors chose a collective suicide rather than to give in to the Merina tribes. We then pass through the huge ‘Plateaux de Horombe’ where with its very deep red soil, reminds us of ‘the no man's land’. Arrive in Isalo. BD   Accommodation: Jardin du Roy or Le Relais de la Reine (rooms with air-conditioning, e-suite bathrooms, restaurant, bar, spa).  

DAY 8: Isalo to Ifaty After breakfast, we continue to Tuléar, the terminal of the National Road N° 7. This step brings us new scenery, among the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. On the way, we admire the different ‘Mahafaly tombs’ and the ‘Antandroy tombs’. After a short visit of Tuléar we drive to Ifaty, which lies about 27 km from Tuléar. Due to the bad condition of the road, it will take us about 2½ hours to reach Ifaty, and this step brings us to the driest part of the country. Situated in the deep south, the landscape is dominated by the spiny forest like the cactus, different euphorbiacea and didieracea. We will cross the dry and sandy soil where the local people battle to find drinking water. Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo villages, which earn their living from fishing. We will see many small pirogues and men who go out fishing twice a day. The children and women wait on the coast to fetch the fish and take them to Tuléar for sale. BD   Accommodation: Le Paradisier (rooms with e-suite bathrooms).  

DAY 10: Ifaty – Tulear – Tana Early in the morning around 6h00 we transfer to the airport for the flight back to Tana. Transfer to the hotel. Afternoon free. Tana also called the ‘City of Thousands’ is the capital of Madagascar. It is the city where the first King started to unify the different kingdoms of the island. Built in stages: The high city, the first area occupied during the royal period where the old queen's palace is situated, the mid-city, where all the chic boutiques of the capital are found and then the low city, which is the commercial area of the town. Your walk can start from the high city to see the Rova, the queen's palace, the house of the first minister during these days, which is now a museum; all built by Frenchman Jean Laborde during the royal period. The mid-city, or the administration area ends at the Rainiharo tombs and the lower town is situated in the main avenue called ‘L'avenue de l'independence’ dominated by the railway station. B   Accommodation: Palissandre Hotel & Spa (rooms with en-suite bathroom, restaurant, bar, spa).