1000 Views of Madagascar - 12 day tour

Upon arrival into Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
Overnight: Antananarivo

Antananarivo – Andasibe. After breakfast we start our journey with a drive to Andasibe through the green and luxuriant vegetation of the east. This first step brings you to the humid part of the country with many primary forests and lakes. Along the way we will see Merina villages in the rocky mountains. Arrive at Andasibe in the afternoon and check-in to the hotel. Later this evening enjoy a night walk in the area of Andasibe to observe night active lemurs and other nocturnal animals.
Overnight: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park  |  Breakfast

We start our morning with a visit to the Special Reserve of Andasibe to see the Indri, the largest lemurs on the island. This 810 ha reserve is unique with its endemic fauna and flora and contains a wide variety of orchids, canopy, and endemic animals like chameleons, tenrecs, and many birds. In the afternoon, we visit the V.O.I.I.M.A community reserve. This reserve provides a sustainable way of saving the remaining rainforests in the area by creating a livelihood for the local communities through reforestation projects. Here you will also come across a variety of wildlife, ranging from brown lemurs, indri, chameleons, geckos and birds.
Overnight: Andasibe  |  Breakfast

Andasibe - Antsirabe. We drive back to Tana, and head south to Antsirabe, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields on display. The spectacular eroded hills called ‘lavaka’ remind us of the Far East with its rice fields and green landscape with vegetables and fruit trees.

We stop in Ambatolampy for a quick visit to this huge agricultural city, also recognized as a source of aluminum. Arrival in Antsirabe is around 17h00. ‘The place of salt’ is an elegant city and known as the center of the beer industry - we can smell the Star Brewery as we enter the town! Founded by Norwegians in 1856, it is the only place which really feels and looks like a European city. It has a temperate climate and therefore fruit and vegetables which grow in colder climates, are found in Antsirabe.
Overnight: Antsirabe  |  Breakfast

Antsirabe - Ranomafana National Park. After breakfast, we drive to Ambositra, the center 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 colors. Further on we pass the ‘le col de tapia’, a type of tree resistant to the bush fires of the area. The landscape is still dominated by rice fields, pine and eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains. Onward to stunning Ranomafana National Park.
Overnight: Ranomafana National Park  |  Breakfast

The approximately 40,000 ha of Parc National de Ranomafana with its rain forest covered hills and abundant wildlife, has long been considered one of Madagascar’s highlights, and is one of the country’s national parks most heavily visited. Its entrance lies about 7 km from Ranomafana village and altitudes in the Park Range from 800 m to 1200 m. In addition to its densely forested hills, Ranomafana’s terrain is characterized by numerous small streams which plummet down to the beautiful Namorona River. Although much of the region has been logged, the easternmost part of the park retains relatively large areas of primary forest. You will go for long walks in the National Park spotting some of the lemurs, chameleons and other animals.
Overnight: Ranomafana National Park   |  Breakfast

Ranomafana - Fianarantsoa – Isalo. We leave Ranomafana using the road that we entered on, and head to 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 center of the Catholic religion and most of the best schools are found here. En route we visit a local wine farm for wine tasting near Fianarantsoa. Note that visits to the wine farms may not be possible over weekends.

We then head southwards to Ambalavao to visit the ‘Anteimoro Paper Factory’ a vestige of the Arabian civilization in the island. Afterwards, we partake in a community-based silk weaving project run by the women's association "Soalandy". Then 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 see from 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.
Overnight: Isalo   |  Breakfast

Today, we will visit and hike in the Isalo National Park. The park covers an area of 81,540 ha, comprising of the entire stretch of the Isalo massif. This huge mountain is very spectacular with its eroded sandstone elevations. Along the way we will see vegetation like Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium rosulatum or ‘elephant's foot’ and Aloe isaloensis, a native species of aloe endemic to Isalo. The eroded mountains also served as a place where the Bara kept their dead before they could bury them in their actual tombs.

We start our climb and reach the massif after walking about 20 minutes, where we will have a spectacular view of the huge sandstone mountains with its beautiful colors and its strange and battered formations creating many different images like ‘the tortoise’, ‘the masks’ and ‘the crocodiles’. Along the way, there may be sifakas, brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs, as well as fifty-five species of birds, lizards and snakes.
Overnight: Isalo  |  Breakfast

Isalo - Tulear - Ifaty. After breakfast, continue to Tulear at the end of National Road N° 7. Admire some different scenery - the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. En-route see the fascinating ‘Mahafaly Tombs’ and the ‘Antandroy Tombs’. After a short visit of Tulear we drive to Ifaty, which lies about 27 km from Tulear. Due to the bad condition of the road it will take about 2½ hours to reach Ifaty which brings we to the driest part of the country. Situated in the deep south, the landscape is dominated by the spiny forest cacti, Baobab trees and thorn-bushes.

Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo villages, the locals earn their living from fishing and there are many small pirogues (small traditional fishing boats) lining the coast. The men of the vilages typically go fishing twice a day while the women and children await their return to fetch the fish and take them to Tulear for sale.
Overnight: Ifaty   |  Breakfast

Day at leisure. Ifaty, being a beachside town is an ideal place for diving, snorkelling and is also a popular destination for birdwatchers. This is a great opportunity to experience the Vezo Fishermen's life. Many excursions are possible. Visit the ‘Reserve Domergue’, a communal reserve where you can see two species of baobabs, spiny bush, reptiles like ‘Boa Madagascariensis, geckos and Parson's Chameleon (Calumma Parsonii). Take a boat trip to see the whales. From July to mid September, whales come to the cool sea off Madagascar to give birth to their young. This is a spectacular experience and it is possible to see the whales up close by taking a boat trip. Situated in the largest lagoon of the country, Ifaty is also protected by a large coral reef, which makes it an ideal for diving and snorkelling. In the afternoon you can walk to the village of Mangily where you can visit a local school.
Overnight: Ifaty  |  Breakfast

Ifaty - Tana (Antananarivo). Early in the morning around 6h00, transfer to the airport for your flight back to Tana (Please note the tour price does not include cost of the internal flight Tulear - Antananarivo).

Check in at your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon. 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. Our 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.
Overnight: Antananarivo   |  Breakfast