Madagascar Wildlife Adventure

Touch down in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s characterful capital, fondly known as Tana. Around 6pm we meet our tour leader and fellow travellers to get to know one another and hear about the journey ahead, followed by a warm group dinner. If you’d like extra time in Tana, you can arrange pre–tour hotel nights with your sales representative.

We leave Tana for a flight to the west coast town of Morondava, then drive to Kirindy Forest, pausing at the iconic Avenue of the Baobabs where ancient, thick–trunked giants line a red earth road. After arriving, we set out on a guided night walk in Kirindy, exploring this private reserve with expert local guides and our tour leader to seek out some of the eight lemur species that live here.

We discover Kirindy in daylight on an early walk led by local guides and our tour leader, with chances to spot more lemurs, including critically endangered Verreaux’s sifakas. Later we drive to Belo Tsiribihina, board the ferry across the Tsiribihina River, and continue to Bekopaka – gateway village to Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park – reached by a smaller ferry.

We devote the day to Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, famed for razor–sharp limestone pinnacles and rich wildlife. In the morning we glide along the Manambolo River on a two–hour canoe ride, exploring caves and hearing about Bara traditions from our park guide. We also take an easy 3mi/5km walk with our guides and tour leader, looking for Milne–Edwards mouse lemurs, white Decken’s sifakas, Bemaraha woolly lemurs and giant chameleons, before visiting the Small Tsingy – a surreal stone forest where we may also spot ring–tailed lemurs. Some sections involve ladders and short scrambles – a fine warm–up for tomorrow’s Big Tsingy.

Prepare for a thrilling exploration of the Big Tsingy, where the limestone needles soar – often twice the height of those in the Small Tsingy – up to about 195ft/60m. It is a physically demanding day: in places we crawl, clip into a harness and climb among the tsingy, rewarded by extraordinary vistas over a landscape sculpted over millions of years. We carry a packed lunch to enjoy at a scenic spot – a day to remember.

We retrace our route to Morondava, crossing the Tsiribihina River by ferry once more. It is a long travel day, softened by a magical stop at the Avenue of the Baobabs for sunset, when the silhouettes stand stark against a colour–shifting sky.

We continue by road for roughly eight hours through the arid landscapes of western Madagascar to reach Miandrivazo.

We drive around eight hours to Antsirabe in the central highlands. If you wish, you can join an optional boat excursion on the Mahajilo River this morning before we set off – your tour leader will have details. The journey showcases the country’s variety, from desert plains to rolling mountains, and from the one–level adobe houses of Miandrivazo to the multi–storey homes of Antsirabe. On arrival, time permitting, we take a brief orientation stroll.

We spend the day exploring Antsirabe and its surroundings by bike on a gentle 22mi/35km ride led by a local cycling leader together with our tour leader. Starting in the lively town centre, we move into calmer neighbourhoods and then open countryside, following a dirt track for about 4mi/7km towards Lake Andraikiba. We loop around the lake past rice paddies, brick–making areas and vegetable fields – a window onto the region’s agricultural life.

We depart Antsirabe and transfer to Ranomafana National Park in the southeast – a long drive on bumpy roads with leg–stretching stops. En route we pass through some of Madagascar’s most varied scenery, descending from cool highlands to lush rainforest, and pause in Ambositra, the centre of Malagasy woodcarving, to browse workshops and souvenirs.

We delve into Ranomafana for a full day on the trails of this World Heritage site – a realm of medium–altitude rainforest and exceptional biodiversity. Guided by our tour leader, we walk roughly 6mi/10km on sometimes slippery paths in search of flagship species such as black–and–white ruffed lemurs, golden bamboo lemurs and greater bamboo lemurs, along with many amphibians and birds. After dinner we return to the forest edge – the park closes at 5pm – to look for nocturnal life near the entrance, including mouse lemurs, leaf–tailed geckos, Madagascar tree frogs, juvenile panther chameleons and giant pill millipedes.

We continue our explorations in Ranomafana – no two wildlife days are alike here, and a second visit boosts our chances of sightings. After walking, you may opt for a soothing dip in the thermal pool in town, or you can join another optional night walk at the forest edge – both payable locally.

We travel towards Isalo National Park, breaking the journey at Anjà Community Reserve where ring–tailed lemurs are readily seen. Here we also learn about the Betsileo people’s funerary rites during a visit to two family tombs set into the cliffs.

We spend the day walking in Isalo, a dramatic landscape of canyons, gorges and wind–sculpted rock. The blend of grassy plains, ochre–red earth and grey sandstone suggests a meeting of Western panoramas and African savannah. Our route – less than 9mi/15km – offers chances to see several lemur species and to view the tombs of the Bara people for insights into local culture and traditions.

We bid farewell to Isalo and drive to Ifaty, a journey of about eight hours 30 minutes. Depending on domestic flight timings, we either stay in Ifaty tonight for an early flight to Tana tomorrow, or fly to Tana this afternoon. This evening we share a final group dinner – a chance to reminisce about favourite moments from the trip.

Our journey concludes today. If you are in Ifaty, we take a one–hour transfer to Tuléar for the flight to Tana, with the trip ending at Ivato International Airport. If you flew to Tana yesterday, there is a group transfer to Ivato International Airport where the trip ends. If you wish to extend your time, your sales representative can help arrange an extended stay.