In the land of baobabs

Departure by car to Antsirabe. Antsirabe is located some 170 km from the capital and is an integral part of the so-called region of the Central Highlands. Quaint villages whose houses are dyed red, laterite color, are scattered ever where along the way.

However, there are also municipalities more or less important thanks to their industrial and artisanal activities. Thus, the city of Ambatolampy deserves to stop, just to see homemade foundries producing kitchen utensils, especially pots or casseroles as we like to call them here.

Arriving in Antsirabe, the traveler notices the existence of many rickshaws, exotic means of transport par excellence to admire the beauty of the city. But what is special about the city is the existence of thermal springs including the famous "Ranovisy" or "Vichy Malagasy" and healing waters. What earned him the name of "City of Water". In addition, it is surrounded by areas rich in mineral resources, mainly precious, fine or ornamental stones. And the stone cutting are worth visiting, not to mention other workshops such as embroidery or the crafting of objects from zebu horn. Rickshaws tour with a short sightseeing tour of the city.

Overnight in hotel.

After breakfast, continuation to Miandrivazo leaving the famous RN7 and taking the RN34.

About twenty kilometers from Antsirabe, a stop for a small rural getaway in the village of Betafo allows you to discover this typically Merina village and the know-how of its inhabitants. It is also in this village that the Norwegians established the first Lutheran Church in Madagascar.

The landscape will be marked by the volcanic landscape of the Vakinakaratra region, with mountains that have more or less rounded summits. It is a rich region favorable to cultivation and particularly to that of rice. The rice fields are located on the slopes of the hills and terraced so as to form a mosaic that, it looks like, was shaped by the hands of an artist.

Arrival in Miandrivazo in the afternoon.

It is the hottest village in Madagascar where the average temperature is 28° C.

Overnight in hotel.

After some formalities with the local authority, to reach the river, you have to go by car to the pier of Masiakampy, 35 km from Miandrivazo. The track is passable but bumpy.

Boarding the barge and start of the descent.

The Tsiribihina River flows through the Menabe region, a populated area of Sakalava, an ethnic group that has particular lifestyles, and habits and customs that are discovered throughout the crossing.

 Multiple stops are offered as interesting as each other. Birds of various species, chameleons ranging from very small to very large, not to mention those lemurs that jump from tree to tree. The flora is not left out; it will surely interest more than one, if only to admire these great baobabs.

Lunch à bord

In the early afternoon, we enter the Bemaraha gorge, where lemurs dare to venture close to humans.

Arrived in Anosin'Ampela, literally "island of girls or women", to fully relax and enjoy a corner of tropical paradise, a swim in the natural in the natural swimming pool is essential. The pool is fed by a clear waterfall.

 After swimming, you will join the village of Begidro for the first night in bivouac.

Dinner on board, campfire on the beach and tent night

Everything does not end there, everything is just beginning. Indeed, continuing the crossing, we can only marvel at the diversity of landscapes on both sides of the river, ranging from almost virgin forests to wooded savannas to grass steppes yellowed by wind and heat.

The melodious songs of aquatic birds such as long-billed herons, kingfishers, wild ducks, and many others, transport us to another world. Their plumage, with its exceptional richness, offers a variety of colors that turns our environment into a true earthly paradise. And what about those bats that cling to the pediments of the great canyons or crocodiles that bask in the sun along the river?

The Tsiribihina River is full of fish where the service cook can stock up for one of these dishes that you will surely like. It is also a region where tobacco cultivation is popular with farmers.

Lunch and dinner on board

Night under tent under the stars on a huge white sandbar.

For this last cruise, we cross the coastal plain of Menabe, always accompanied by lemurs and possibly crocodiles. Bats are also at the rendezvous during the passage to the Menabe Gorge.

This last crossing will also allow you to discover a first forest of baobabs of the region.

Lunch on board the barge.
In the early afternoon, arrival at the disembarkation point of the village of Belo sur Tsiribihina and continuation by 4WD car on the track leading to the village of Bekopaka.

To reach the village, it is necessary to take two ferries to cross the river and enter forests and savannas more or less dry.

Check in late at the hotel.

Overnight in hotel.

Full day visit of the National Park of Bemaraha Tsingy. A World Heritage Park by UNESCO since 1990 thanks to its landscape consisting of exceptional geological formations with its countless karst peaks sometimes rising up to tens of meters from the ground. The show is worth the cost since it is simply sublime. The fauna composed among others of lemurs, amphibians, reptiles, endemic mammals, various aquatic or terrestrial birds, bats, big or small, as well as the flora, with more than 650 species listed, will particularly enchant the lovers of wild nature.

A morning canoe trip on the gorge of Manambolo is more than recommended, just to explore the caves with their impressive stalagmites and stalactites. The hike continues to the level of the Vazimba tomb (the first occupants of the island, it seems, now missing).

After the trip in a dugout canoe, let us go right into the small Tsingy and go through the canyons through the labyrinths to visit the caves which contain evidence of ancient human presence. And, to top it off and get an overview of the Tsingy with its various vegetation, let's go to the lookouts.

Overnight in hotel.

After the little one, we must now go to the discovery of the great Tsingy to revel in the feeling of emptiness from the top of a suspension bridge at about twenty meters and admire an overview of the Tsingy while distinguishing the difference between the vegetations of the top and the bottom. The sunset is of impregnable beauty.
This route is not recommended for people who are sensitive to vertigo, and due to its level of difficulty, it is strongly recommended to be in excellent physical condition.
Overnight in hotel.

Back by car to Morondava. When returning to Morondava, about twenty kilometers before reaching your destination, pass and stop at the famous Baobab Alley, a road bordered by these giant baobabs unique in the world that scroll to the horizon to offer a beautiful sunset.

Arrived late in Morondava.

Overnight in hotel.

Transfer to the airport according to the flight schedule to Antananarivo.

Arrival in Antananarivo, transfer at the hotel.

Overnight in hotel.

Visit of a handicraft shop and then transfer to the airport for the return flight.