13 Day Madagascar Experience Itinerary

DAY ONE – ANTANANARIVO
You will be met and welcomed on arrival off your flight at the international arrival hall. Please look out for a sign with your name after you exit the restricted area with your luggages. You will then be led to your vehicle for your private transfer to Maison Galliéni.  Settle into your room and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight at Maison Galliéni (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY TWO – ANTANANARIVO – MORONDAVA
Visit the Old city and upper town of Antananarivo. The majestic Rova ( The Queen’s palace ) overlooks the capital from the highest point of the city. The Rova of Antananarivo is a royal palace complex that served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as of the rulers of the Kingdom of Madagascar in the 19th century. The historic boroughs around the Rova ( The Queen’s palace) have nice panoramic views over downtown Antananarivo. You will drive or walk the neighbourhood with your guide to enjoy the picturesque ambience of the noblemen residence area, with both well-kept traditional houses, the colonial houses, palaces, cathedrals, the charm of the narrow, curved, upslope cobblestoned streets and ensemble of cute traditional Malagasy houses built entirely of wood.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Morondava.

On arrival into Morondava, you will be met at the domestic arrivals hall and once your luggage has been collected, you will then be led to your vehicle for your private transfer to Palissandre Cote Ouest.

Overnight at Palissandre Cote Ouest (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY THREE – MORONDAVA
Today you will head to the Kirindy Forest, home of the Fosa, the largest mammal carnivore in Madagascar. Kirindy is one of Madagascar’s most threatened ecosystems, a dry deciduous forest. It is famous for the giant jumping rat and home to seven species of lemur and a number of endemic reptiles. Spend a full day here to spot the wildlife and discover the flora, heading back to the world famous Baobab Alley to photograph the dramatic sunset over these endemic trees.

During this unique sunset at the Alley of Baobabs, a private cocktail will be served to let you enjoy this beautiful scenery before you head back to your hotel.

Overnight at Palissandre Cote Ouest (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY FOUR – MORONDAVA – ANTSIRABE
Distance  +/-400km – Approximate journey time 8 hours
Today you leave the region of the Menabe to the scenery of the Malagasy highlands : rice fields, mountains, typical villages. The numerous fruit and vegetable stalls will show that its a very fertile region and you will have the opportunity to witness locals working in their field. Take the time to stop at your leisure to interact with villagers.

This region is dedicated to the agriculture and very often, you will see villagers with their colourful stands stocked with products. In the afternoon, you will reach the town of Antsirabe, known for its thermal waters and rickshaws.

You will reach about 1500 meters of altitude by the time you arrive in Antsirabe. Due to the altitude, the climate of the region is very cool and temperatures can drop to 0 degrees Celsius during the winter. The city was founded by Norwegian missionary T.G. Rosaas in 1872 as a hill station to serve as a retreat centre because of the much cooler climate, the thermal baths were opened in 1917. This is also the city where the Morrocan king Mohamed V was exhiled in 1955, you may make a quick stop at its former palace which is now the Hotel des Thermes. Today, Antsirabe is a major industrial center producing beer and cotton fabrics.

Overnight at Plumeria Hotel – (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY FIVE – ANTSIRABE – RANOMAFANA
Continue your journey heading south across the highlands to reach Ambositra, the Malagasy handcrafts’capital located 105 km from Antsirabe. In this city known for its Zafimaniry Art, you will visit different craft workshops, wood carvers who make beautiful statues, furnitures and souvenirs.

After lunch in Ambositra, you will hit the road in the afternoon to reach the rainforest in Ranomafana, where  you will experience a night visit of the rainforest to find animals such as the Fosa (small puma), chameleons, frogs and the smallest lemur in the world: Microcebe.

At nightfall, enjoy a walk at the roadside, near the park entrance, to spot the small and shy brown lemur attracted by the bananas smell. It will also be the occasion to look for frogs and chameleons using torches. If you are lucky, you can discover almost the different species that are sheltered in the forest so good flash will be required to get good pictures but not too intense not to disturb animals.

Overnight at Hotel Thermal Ranomafana (Dinner & Breakfast)

DAY SIX – RANOMAFANA
Today you have the opportunity to explore the Ranomafana National Park. With more than 41,600 hectares (161 square miles) of tropical rainforest, the park is home to several rare species of flora and fauna including the golden bamboo lemur, the greater bamboo lemur, black and white ruffed lemur and Milne Edwards sifaka, and over 120 species of frogs. Pitta like ground rollers, blue vangas, short-legged ground rollers and brown mesites can be seen.

The park was established in 1991 with the purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity of the local ecosystem and reducing the human pressures on the protected area. It is part of the World Heritage Site Rainforests of the Atsinanana. The flora and fauna of Ranomafana have been subject to extensive scientific research. Various scientific publications have been published about this protected area.

Overnight at Hotel Thermal Ranomafana (Dinner & Breakfast)

DAY SEVEN – RANOMAFANA – RANOHIRA
After breakfast, continue the journey through Fianarantsoa perched onto the hills with its beautiful traditional architecture reflecting the different stages of colonization. You will stop for a tour of the Old City.

Its Old City was placed by the World Monuments Fund on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. The Fianarantsoa Old City occupies a dramatic hilltop setting once topped with a palace used by the Merina royal family during state visits. While the palace is no longer there, some 500 homes built between 1870 and 1900 by those affiliated with the royal retinue still line the city’s picturesque cobblestone streets. Buildings dating from this period survived because a royal edict forbidding commoners from using durable building materials was lifted in 1868.  Moreover, the Old City is the only place in Madagascar where nineteenth-century buildings form a coherent architectural ensemble.

After leaving Fianarantsoa, you will have the majestic Andringitra mountains in the background.  You now leave the highlands of Madagascar and enter a new microclimate: the dry bush and semi desert of southern Madagascar. The first stop of the day is in the small town of Ambalavao, one of the cultural treasures with its architectural houses with verandas. There, you will visit the entirely natural Paper Factory Antemoro, an inlaid paper made from plants and flowers which is exported nowadays everywhere to make beautiful greeting cards. We will visit these traditional mills.

The Anja Community Reserve: You also have the chance to spend sometime at the Anja Community Reserve, located 13 km south of the district capital Ambalavao. It is an unique environmental and cultural preservation site in the south of Madagascar. As both a nature reserve and a growing Malagasy town, Anja is an example of how humans and nature can co-exist and flourish.

The forest in Anja was designated a protected area reserve by the Government of Madagascar in 1999. Management of the forest was officially transferred to the local association Anja Miray and the reserve extends over 30 hectares. The space is enriched with an ecological wealth of flora and fauna species, most notable for its dense population of semi-tame ring-tailed lemurs.

Anja has become a vital example of how community management of natural resources can both effectively protect the area and benefit the community.

Continue  South with its semi-dry landscape arriving in Ranohira later in the afternoon, to enjoy a very unique landscape.

Overnight at Isalo Rock Lodge (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY EIGHT –  RANOHIRA
A full day to explore this intriguing area.

Isalo National Park: Accompanied  by a park ranger,  hike through the canyons  and oases  of Isalo and its lunar landscape to reach  some waterfalls. This environment was formed during the Jurassic age and where the unique flora has evolved adapting to the existing conditions.  There are 77 species of birds live in Isalo among which the rare and famous Benson rock-thrush  ( Pseudocossyphus  bensoni ).  During the hike, you will see different  species  of lemurs,  including  the world famous  ring tailed lemur.   There is also an opportunity to relax in this environment and swim in the natural pools.

Ilakaka: Since the discovery of sapphires in 1998 in this town in Madagascar the population of Ilakaka has swelled. The locals quickly found a thriving market with Thai and Malagasy merchants. Within months, miners from around the island settled near the bridge on the Ilakaka River, and a boomtown was born. Ilakaka is a much quieter place today but Sri Lankan, Thai, and Malagasy gem traders still conduct business. Ilakaka-Sakaraha probably still surpasses Sri Lanka as the world’s main source for blue and pink sapphires.

In association with the company Color Line led by a Swiss gemologist, if you wish, you have the chance to visit a spectacular open pit sapphire mine. You will be able to witness the harsh and archaic conditions in which the miners accomplish their work.  After the mine visit, if you wish, you can stop at Color Line showroom, located at the heart of the town of Ilakaka. This shop presents a broad range of gemstones extracted in the region and locally designed jewelry

Overnight at Isalo Rock Lodge (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY NINE –  RANOHIRA – TOLIARA
Distance  +/-240km – Approximate journey time 4 hours
This is a beautiful and smooth drive along a nicely paved road. On your way, you will cross one the numerous villages formed by the sapphire rush. You will also cross a dry decidous forest and see the first baobabs on the National Road 7.

Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park: Today you will visit the Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park which constitutes the most important remnant of dry deciduous forest of Madagascar. Zombitse-Vohibasia acts as a transition zone between the dry and the humid forests of Madagascar. Therefore the flora is especially rich within the protected area. Baobabs and several orchids are particulary common.

The number of animal species living here is also remarkable. 15 small mammals, 2 carnivorous and 8 lemur species, such as the Verraux´s sifaka, red-fronted brown lemur, ring-tailed lemur, pale fork-marked lemur and the Hubbard´s sportive lemur can be observed here. Birds are also a park highlight. There are 85 species, most of them endemic like the rare Appert´s greenbul, which only lives in this forest. 33 reptile and 8 amphibian species have been reported in Zombitse, such as the Standing´s day gecko, which is also local endemic to the Park.
Four different short and pretty easy circuits (from one to five hours walk) are offered by the park authorities in order to allow visitors to discover the richness and diversity of this last natural refuge.

The Antsokay Arboretum was established around 1980. The guided tour through the botanical trail will open your eyes to the ingenuity of a diverse flora that has adapted, sometimes in extraordinary ways, to the heat and drought of this region. You will also discover the relationship that has developed between mankind and the plant kingdom, through the use of medicinal plants.

The arboretum has a collection of over 900 plant species from the southwest of Madagascar, 90% are endemic to the region and 80% have medicinal properties. Among these many succulent species are recognized as endangered.

More than 25 species of reptiles and mammals are found there. Among the most common are the: Furcifer verrucosus, oplurus cyclurus and Phelsuma mutabilis.

The arboretum is also home to several species of mammals including the lemur Microcebus griseorufus and tenrec Echinops telfairi, both nocturnal. The lemurs are the smallest lemurs of Madagascar, measuring only 12cm long and can be apreçus asleep in tree holes during the day, they eat insects and fruit.

Overnight at Bakuba (Bed & Breakfast)

DAY TEN –  TOLIARA – ANAKAO
Today is a transfer to Anakao: The safest and fastest way to reach Anakao, 45km South from Tulear is by speedboat. Anakao is not an island, a huge river, Onilahy, blocks the path at the level of Saint Agustin. Before 9:30am at the port, you embark on a powerful speed boat which will take you comfortably, in less than one hour, to Anakao.  After going along Sarodrano’s sand bank and leaving the lagoon, the route crosses the Tropic of Capricorn at the mouth of the Onilahy river. This is where you can see whales (June to September), dolphins and flying fish. Finally, you will go along the coast between Soalara and Anakao, seaside or lagoon side, depending on the tides. Your skilled skipper will drop you off right in front your hotel on Anakao’s beach.

Anakao is a small fishermen village located 45km south and only easily accessible by boat. Forget crowded places and be seduced by the beautiful Andovoke bay, with over a kilometre and a half long white sand beach with turquoise waters. Clearly visible on the horizon are the breakers that smash against one of the stretches of the longest coral reefs in the world.

Overnight at Anakao Ocean Lodge (Dinner & Breakfast)

DAY ELEVEN –  ANAKAO
A full day to enjoy and explore.

Tsimanampetsotsa visit: Embark on one of the quad bikes or one of the trucks and go towards the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, named after its spectacular lake.This huge lake which lenght measures 17km is one of the largest lakes in Madagascar and lies in the most arid zone of the island, which receives only around 300 mm rain each year. There are two main landscapes inside the park: a calcareous plateau covered with dense xerophilous thickets (a locally endemic spiny forest), huge baobabs and banyan trees, and the sand dunes along the coast covered by a grassy blanket. The park also has numerous caves and sinkholes, which are the result of an underground stream. This is where scientists recently discovered remains of giant lemurs during an underwater search expedition. Tsimanampetsotsa is a birders paradise. More than 100 species are found here, including pink, greater and dwarf flamingos forming big colonies on the lake, 5 coua species, Archbold´s newtonia, Madagascar plover, red-shouldered vanga or Lafresnaye´s vanga. Apart from birds, there are 12 species of mammals, among them the extremely rare and local endemic Grandidier´s mongoose and 4 lemur species: ring-tailed lemur, Verreaux´s sifaka, Gray-brown mouse lemur and white-footed sportive lemur. Among the 39 reptile species, the most significant one is the radiated turtle, which is endemic to this region and extremely endangered to extinction.

After the park visit and a picnic,  spend some time on the beautiful beach of Ambola before returning to your hotel.

Overnight at Anakao Ocean Lodge (Dinner & Breakfast)

DAY TWELVE –  ANAKAO
Today you have the opportunity to sail to Nosy Ve, a small 1km long inhabited island. It is a sacred place for people of Anakao. The crossing takes less than 1 hour to go depending on the winds. The island is one of the few places in the world known as a place of reproduction of red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda). You can observe adults nesting with baby birds. This island is also a good snorkeling spot and has an amazing beach. For once in your life, you may feel like you are Robinson Crusoe. Return to Anakao early afternoon before the wind gets too gusty.

Overnight at Anakao Ocean Lodge (Dinner & Breakfast

DAY THIRTEEN  – ANAKAO – ANTANANARIVO
The return boat trip to Toliara from Anakao usually leaves early, no later than 7:30am.  Upon arriving in Toliara, a driver will wait for you at the port, where you will be transferred by air to the Antananarivo.

On arrival you will be met at the domestic arrivals hall. Once you have collected your luggage, you will then be led to your vehicle for your private transfer to the international airport for your departing flight or we can arrange overnight accommodation or excursion in Antananarivo.