SOUTH TOUR WITH AMBOHITSARA (15 days / 14 nights)
Visit Ifaty with its beautiful beach and backlands with endemic fauna and flora. Drive to Ranohira and visit of the Isalo national park, then continuation and visit of the rainforest of Ranomafana with its national park. Drive to the sea at the east, then by boat along the Pangalanes canal to Ambohitsara, a typical village between sea and canal, also known for its “white elephant statue”. Extension in Ambohitsara possible.
Day 1 : EUROPE - ANTANANARIVO Meeting at the airport and transfert to the city. Stay overnight at the hotel.
Day 2 : ANTANANARIVO – TULEAR – IFATY (27 Km about 1,5 hour-drive) Transfer to the airport for the flight to Tulear. Reception at the airport and shuttle transfer to Ifaty – a seaside resort protected by coral reefs. Night at the hotel.
Day 3 : IFATY Day free on the beach, or walk in the back land to discover endemic species, (like baobabs, octopus trees, spiny bush, jujube trees ,cactus,…) or optionally visit the Reniala reserve. Night at the hotel.
Day 4 : IFATY – TULEAR (27 Km about 1 hour-drive) – RANOHIRA (240 Km about 4 hour-drive) After breakfast , drive back to Tulear with visit of the Arboretum with many species of endemic plants, then continue to Ranohira along a straight road. The landscape is composed of high bushes, thick gallery forests and some proudly decorated Mahafaly tombs. Overnight at the hotel.
Day5 RANOHIRA Morning trek inside the Isalo National Park to discover on a walk of around three to five hours on sometimes bumpy tracks, at some parts a bit steep, the massif of Isalo, its ruin like sandstones, canyons, endemic fauna and flora (Lemurs and endemic plants such as Pachypodium , aloes,..) and to swim in its natural pool. Overnight at the hotel
Day6 RANOHIRA – FIANARANTSOA (295 Km about 5,5 hour-drive) After breakfast , drive to Fianarantsoa. Another stop 12km south of Ambalavao to visit the Anja park, where you can see on a walk of around two hours on a little bumpy tracks, but not steep, some families of ring-tailed Katta lemurs in their natural surroundings. Then continue to Ambalavao to visit a hand made paper factory (not possible on Sundays). Arrival in Fianarantsoa at the end of the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
Day7 FIANARANTSOA – MANAKARA (on Tuesdays, and Saturdays, so arrival has to be planned accordingly) Train ride to Manakara throughout tropical forests and plantations through 48 tunnels and over 67 bridges. On every station, the local population sell food, according to the season, river crabs, grilled fish, bananas, manioc, ricecakes… Transfert from the railway station to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Day8 MANAKARA – MANANJARY (165 km about 3.5 hour-drive) Car transfer to Mananjary along spice plantations, fruit trees etc.. Overnight at the hotel. Le Voyageur
Day9 MANANJARY – AMBOHITSARA (60 km boat trip about 4 to 5 hours) Transfer to Ambohitsara aboard a motorboat on the Pangalanes canal. The Pangalanes canal has here an important function as there are no roads. Everything is transported on the canal, mainly in pirogues: fruits, toka gasy (a kind of local moonshine spirit), betsa-betsa (palmwine), and anything the people in the villages need or produce. Arrival in Ambohitsara – a small village between Pangalanes canal and the sea on the Pangalanes canal. Stay on full board at the simple hotel.
Day10 AMBOHITSARA – MANANJARY (60 km boat trip about 4 to 5 hours) In the morning stay in Ambohitsara and surroundings. Visit to the statue of the "white elephant", which according to researchers is supposed to represent a pig, whose origin still causes archaeologists headaches. This holy statue "Vatomasina" made of soapstone has supposedly been looking northeast, its home: the border area of Siberia and North China, for over 2000 years. A walk through the village is also part of the program; here you can still see the real Madagascar, far away from the big cities and the stream of tourists. In the afternoon boat trip back to Mananjary. On the way you can still see the place where Jean Laborde was shipwrecked. Overnight stay in a hotel in Mananjary. Another option would be a boat trip to Mahanoro in two more days. From there, one could continue the tour by car further north to Tamatave, or return by car via Andasibe to Antananarivo. The Pangalanes Canal cannot be navigated on the Mahanoro- Vatomandry route at the moment, it is overgrown with water hyacinths. It is planned to dredge this section in the near future.
Day11 MANANJARY – RANOMAFANA (200 Km about 4 hour drive) Drive to Ranomafana – a national park which is home to various species of lemurs, birds , reptiles .Possibility of doing a night walk along the road to try to see nocturnal species of animals, with some luck you’ll see mouse lemurs, chameleons, etc. Overnight at the hotel Day12 RANOMAFANA After breakfast, visit of the some 40’000 hectares big Nationalpark with its lemurs, chameleons, spiders, frogs, varieties of orchids and medicinal plants. Only in 1986 was discovered the golden Bamboo lemurs here, and there are more than 100 species of birds. This walk takes around 3 to 4 hours, and goes mostly on trails, sometimes a bit steep up and down, and sometimes you’ll go off the paths and into the forest to spot the lemurs, it’s a bit exhausting and requires endurance and agility. Overnight at the hotel.
Day13 RANOMAFANA – ANTSIRABE (240 Km about 5,5 hour-drive) After breakfast, drive to Antsirabe – also called the “Town of Water “ because of thermal spas and the existence of two crater lakes. Overnight at the hotel.
Day14 ANTSIRABE – ANTANANARIVO (169 Km about 4 hour-drive) After breakfast, a short city tour and visit of the lake Andraikiba, and of a workshop where they make miniatures from recycled materials, then drive to Antananarivo. Overnight at the hotel.
Day15 ANTANANARIVO – EUROPE In the morning, excursion to Ambohimanga – a UNESCO World heritage site: a King‘s palace built on the top of the hill covered with forests. In the afternoon, back to Tana and visit of a handicraft market. At the end of the afternoon, day use at the hotel, then transfer to the airport for the flight back to Europe.
