Adventure in Madagascar: From West to Deep South
Go on an adventure in Madagascar from West to the Deep South. Discover the Berenty Reserve, Andohahela National Park, Pink Flamingo, Lemur.
This tour promises a great adventure in Madagascar trip gathering the best activities and visits from the West to the Deep South such as the Tsingy of Bemaraha, the great Antsira’s Saline of Belo sur Mer, the white sandy beaches of Andavadoaka, Salary, Anakao, Tsimanampetsotsa, Cap Sainte Marie… This adventure in Madagascar tour is sure to delight you.
Adventure in Madagascar
Duration: 25 days / 24 nights
Itinerary : Antananarivo – Antsirabe – Morondava – Bekopaka – Morondava – Belo sur Mer – Morombe – Andavadoaka – Salary – Tuléar – Anakao – Ambola – Itampolo – Lavanono – Berenty – Fort Dauphin – Antananarivo
− Tsingy of Bemaraha National Park: Extensive cathedrals of limestone and crumbly rocks composed of fossilized shells and subsequently shaped by rainwater. UNESCO World Heritage site
− Dhow and schooner making discovery, salt flower harvesting in Belo sur Mer
− Baobab Alley and Baobab in love discovery / Antsokay Arboretum visit
− Tsimanampetsotsa National Park: 1st Madagascar RAMSAR site, pink flamingos, sacred lake, radiated tortoise…
− Berenty Reserve: 2,000 lemurs sanctuary living in complete freedom, 102 bird species, reptiles, turtles, bats…
− Andohahela National Park: 5 of the 11 Didieraceae species endemic to Southern Madagascar, 12 lemur species, 129 bird species, 65 reptile species and 50 amphibian species, trihedron palm and ferns
− Safari in the South and discovery of Cape Sainte Marie: the Madagascaar Southernmost tip, an abundant ecosystem of Radiata Tortoises
− White sandy beaches and turquoise water of Salary, Andavadoaka, Belo sur Mer, Anakao and those of Madagascar’s extreme south
− Summary of what an adventure in Madagascar is
Day 1. ANTANANARIVO
Depending on your booking date, a warm reception and a nice meeting will be reserved for you at Antananarivo airport. Transfer to your hotel to prepare for the next day’s adventure!
On the way to make memories!
Night at hotel.
Day 2. ANTANANARIVO – ANTSIRABE
On the way to the National 7 passing by Behenjy village to taste its famous local foie gras known as the best in Madagascar. It is also known for its «menakely»: very tasty rice fritters. You will also taste tasty sausages and roasted chickens with local spices. Behenjy is a true gastronomic city.
Then back on the road and stop at Ambatolampy, a small town typical of the highlands region, located a few kilometers of the Ankaratra massif. It is known for its foundries, for the manufacture of copper, aluminum articles and utensils.
Continuation towards Antsirabe «The city of water». Installation at your hotel and a small city tour.
Night at hotel.
Day 3. ANTSIRABE – MORONDAVA
After breakfast, on the way to the city of Morondava and let yourself be carried away by the landscapes’ variation all along the road.
Arrival at destination, relaxation to prepare for the next day.
Night at hotel.
Day 4. MORONDAVA – BEKOPAKA
Resumption of the adventure to reach Bekopaka while discovering the Menabe region.
Once arrived, transfer to your hotel and relaxation.
Night at hotel.
Day 5. TSINGY OF BEMARAHA NATIONAL PARK (Manambolo Gorge – Little Tsingy)
To start the day, visit of the Manambolo gorge which is a large limestone cliff carved by the river millions of years ago forming impressive caves. Then we continue to the Little Tsingy at the entrance to Bemaraha National Park.
The Tsingy are extensive limestone cathedrals and friable rocks composed of fossilized shells and subsequently shaped by rainwater giving it the merit of one of the whole island’s most spectacular landscapes .
Night at hotel.
Day 6. TSINGY OF BEMARAHA NATIONAL PARK (Great Tsingy)
The second day will be dedicated to the visit and discovery of the Great Tsingy 15 km from Bekopaka. This visit requires a good physical condition, rewarded then by a breathtaking view to the top of the Tsingy.
Night at hotel.
Day 7. BEKOPAKA – MORONDAVA
On the way to Morondava city, crossing a dry forest track and a grassy savannah.
A small detour to the Baobab in love, then discovery of the famous Baobab Alley at sunset. An authentic show that will amaze you among your most beautiful memories.
Night at hotel.
Day 8. MORONDAVA – BELO SUR MER
Back on the road on a white sand track for Belo sur Mer. Fording some rivers during the trip like Kabatomena, Maharivo… After crossing the immense saline of Belo, an amazing white landscape awaits you.
Arrival in Belo sur Mer, rest of the day free.
Night at hotel.
Day 9. BELO SUR MER
Free day to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Belo sur Mer and the deep blue lagoon. But different activities will be proposed to you by your hotel according to your desires. In particular, dugout canoe trips to observe the rich flora and fauna of the region, swimming, observation of local crafts, the large salt works, manufacture of dhows and schooners that make the village reputation.
Night at hotel.
Day 10. BELO SUR MER – MANJA – MOROMBE
Resuming the track to join Morombe by crossing the Mangoky River. A cumbersome landscape of thorn forest dotted with Baobabs borders along the track. You will be surprised by the giant Baobab tree of about 20 meters of circumference being the oldest of Madagascar.
All along the way, you can admire Baobabs with vast savannah landscape and some villages.
Night at hotel.
Day 11. MOROMBE – ANDAVADOAKA
Resume the coastal track along the Mozambique Channel to reach Andavadoaka with a view of beautiful beaches and deep blue sea.
Arrival at your destination, installation at your hotel and rest of the day free.
Night at hotel.
Day 12. ANDAVADOAKA
Free day to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Andavadoaka and the deep blue of the sea. But different activities will be proposed to you by your hotel according to your desires.
Andavadoaka is also a fishermen’s village with an enchanting landscape combining white sand, baobab forest and green lagoon as far as the eye can see.
Night at hotel.
Day 13. ANDAVADOAKA – SALARY
Direction to Salary through dry forests landscapes where baobabs are omnipresent. Salary is a small fishing village between Andavadoaka and Tulear (a little over 100 km north of Tulear).
A true masterpiece of nature, a sumptuous landscape on the edge of the Ambatomilo lagoon, baobabs, white sand dunes, and an encounter with the Vezo people await you.
Night at hotel.
Day 14. SALARY
Free day to enjoy the Salary Bay. Its turquoise waters and white sandy beaches as far as the eye can see make it a paradisiacal place, all in an almost unreal calm. You can only hear the waves sound in this virgin and still preserved nature. The place is quite isolated, it is not on the usual tourist tours. The bay of Salary is a destination, not a passage. It is perfect for travelers who want to recharge their batteries.
Nevertheless, different activities will be proposed to you by your hotel according to your desires.
Night at hotel.
Day 15. SALARY – TULEAR (Antsokay Arboretum)
Back on the road to join Tuléar, then visit of the Antsokay Arboretum. It is a natural museum laid out as a botanical park which extends over 40 ha, surrounded by a lively plant hedge. The site is home to 900 plant species, 90% of which are endemic, as well as medicinal plants.
This excursion will make you discover the magical and surprising world of Madagascar’s South-West flora.
After this visit, rest of the day free.
Night at hotel.
Day 16. TULEAR – ANAKAO
After a good night’s rest, transfer to the port to take a speedboat to Anakao village (1h crossing), known for its wonderful white sands on the edge of a lagoon green sea giving a breathtaking view of the Mozambique Channel. Arrival in Anakao, check-in at your hotel.
Or, opt for an adventure day by road (270km including 200km on track), but which will be the opportunity to cross the Mahafaly country and discover the landscapes of South-West Madagascar. Arrival at the end of the day, transfer and relaxation at your hotel.
Night at hotel.
Day 17. ANAKAO
Free day. However, several activities can be offered by your hotel.
Among others, you can make an excursion to neighbouring islands such as Nosy Ve, the only place in Madagascar where you can find Phaetons or straw in tail.
Or to Nosy Satrana, about ten kilometres South of Anakao along the coast through the transparent lagoon. It is an uninhabited and very wild island where you can still find fossilized pieces of Aepyornis’ eggshells: the ostrich’s giant ancestor.
You can also practice diving activities or just enjoy a lazy day by the sea.
Night at hotel.
Day 18. ANAKAO (Tsimanampetsotsa National Park) – AMBOLA
Departure to discover the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park which is the first RAMSAR site in Madagascar, and to see the famous blind fish, the Pink Flamingoes (September), the thousand-year-old Baobabs, giant Pachypodiums and get lost in the landscape of the only salt lake in Madagascar.
Night at hotel.
Day 19. AMBOLA – ITAMPOLO
We take the track back to Itampolo which is a charming fishing village specializing in lobsters. All along the track you may come across impressive zebu carts converging on the neighbouring village market, a place for exchanges and meetings between the neighbouring populations.
In the heart of Mahafaly country, which means “You who make us happy”, Itampolo is a little corner of paradise, with a white sandy beach as far as the eye can see. The tombs there are hymns to life, painted in bright colours from which all sadness is banished. Funerary posts or “Aloalo” are erected where the personality or favourite pastime of the deceased is sculpted. Zebu horns cover the entire surface and their number determines the wealth of the ancestor because at his death the whole of his livestock will be decimated.
Night at hotel.
Day 20. ITAMPOLO – LAVANONO
After breakfast, departure to continue the adventure on the South-west coast of Madagascar. Along the way, visit the village of Ampanihy, the place where the famous mohair carpets are made.
Then on track to reach Lavanono where a magical and surprising landscape will make you forget the weariness of the long road (typical vegetation of the great South like Didieréacées, Euphorbes, Aloès…).
Night at hotel.
Day 21. LAVANONO (Cape Sainte Marie)
Free day. Nevertheless, you can make an excursion to the Special Reserve of Cape Sainte Marie “Tanjon’i Vohimena” which is the Southernmost point of Madagascar where you can admire cliffs landscapes in parallel with that the extreme South of Madagascar. A real spot offering a new show during the famous whale migration (June to September) and an abundant ecosystem of Radiata Turtles.
It is also where the Indian Ocean meets the Mozambique Channel and the eggshells’ pieces of the famous and mythical elephant bird “Aepyornis” are still visible in the sand dunes.
You will also discover a working lighthouse from where you can admire the sea as far as the South Pole and Antarctica.
You could, among other things, continue the visit to the Faux Cap or Betanty, long considered to be the Southern tip of the Big Island, hence the place name.
Or you can simply enjoy a lazy day at the hotel by the sea in total symbiosis with the horizon and the white sandy beaches as far as the eye can see.
Night at hotel.
Day 22. LAVANONO – BERENTY
Departure to cross a long track with a climate variation setting up an arid and desert plain of the great South.
On arrival in Berenty, transfer and installation at your hotel. Relaxation to prepare for the night visit of the Berenty Reserve or the Lemurian Reserve.
Night at hotel.
Day 23. BERENTY RESERVE – FORT DAUPHIN
Discover the Berenty Reserve which is a reserve for the protection of lemurs and their natural environment with more than 1,000 hectares protected areas. A true sanctuary for the 2,000 lemurs that live there in complete freedom, the Berenty Reserve allows you to discover 102 bird species and more than a hundred other species: reptiles, turtles, bats…
The natural and floristic varieties such as forests, red sands, bush, also offer a spectacle of unrivalled endemic richness. In the heart of Berenty, the magic works.
Visit one of the most exhaustive museums in Madagascar, the Arembelo museum which presents around a unique collection of traditional objects, the habits and customs of the Antandroy culture “The people of the thorns land”.
After the visit, back on the road to Fort Dauphin or the city at the end of the world.
Night at hotel.
Day 24. FORT DAUPHIN (Andohahela National Park)
The day will begin with the discovery of the Andohahela National Park representing the biological diversity of Madagascar’s extreme southeast. It is also the only protected area in Madagascar with a dense humid forest South of the Tropic of Capricorn, which is rare worldwide, as well as a transitional formation between the Eastern and Southern ecoregions.
The Park shelters several fauna species: 12 lemur species including 05 in dry forest with one endemic species of the park: the Hapalemur griseus meridionalis, 129 bird species, 65 reptile species and 50 amphibian species including 04 in dry forest. And more than a thousand plant species: 5 of the 11 Didieraceae endemic species to Southern Madagascar exist in the park (Decarya madagascariensis, Alluaudia humbertii, Alluaudia procera, Alluaudia dumosa, Alluaudia ascendes). A local and regional endemic species such as the trihedron palm or Dypsis decaryi and 207 species and varieties of ferns, more than 90% of which are found in the humid forest.
It is also a considerable water reservoir as the park is criss-crossed by the Manambolo, Mandrare, Manampanihy and Andriambe rivers which have their source here and, with the development of ecotourism, they represent a great economic potential for the region.
Once the visit is over, return to Fort Dauphin and rest of the day free.
You can, among other things, discover the Pic Saint Louis, visit the town and Fort Flacourt, visit the Saiadi botanical garden according to your wishes.
Night at hotel.
Day 25. FORT DAUPHIN – ANTANANARIVO
Depending on the domestic flight schedule, possibility of a last little city tour.
Then transfer to the airport for a flight to the Capital.
And international return flight.
End of Temea Tour services.
− Reception at Antananarivo international airport
− Airport-hotel-airport transfers in Antananarivo
− Transfer hotel-airport in Fort Dauphin
− Crossing rivers in ferries
− Fast boat transfer Tuléar-Anakao (according to your choice)
− Vehicle rental with fuel and driver service during your adventure in Madagascar
− Accommodations in double room / twin
− Half board
− Vignettes and tourist taxes
− Entrance fees at parks/reserves/sites mentioned in the program with local guide fees
− International and domestic flights, airport taxes
− Visa and travel insurance
− Lunches
− Tips, personal expenses, drinks
− All free activities
− Any other service not mentioned in this adventure in Madagascar tour
− Other factors independent of our services (increase in airport taxes…)