Mada at a Glance

TOUR PLAN

SERVICES

HIGHLIGHTS

Mada at a Glance

Day 1 Arrival in Antananarivo

After the initial formalities of the passport control and the money exchange at the airport of Antananarivo, your English speaking travel guide will accompany you to your hotel. (A) Overnight stay in the Hotel de France

Day 2 Antananarivo – Andasibe

After breakfast in the hotel you drive about 130 km eastward to Andasibe. Along the way you stop at the chameleon farm of Marozevo. Here you can take a photo of the rare chameleon species and leaf-tailed geckos. Before dinner you can look forward to an evening walk at the edge of the forest. We can watch frogs, chameleons and other nocturnal animals in their night-time lives. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Feon’ny Ala

Day 3 Andasibe – Akanin’ny Nofy

Your day starts with a hike in the Mantadia National Park where you look for the indris, the biggest living lemurs. Accompanied by the different noises of the wild animals, we wander through the rainforest of Andasibe. After the hike in the national park we continue our trip to Manambato for a one-hour trip on the channel of Pangalagne. Madagascar’s east coast, called the Amazon of Madagascar, shows its most beautiful sight, with lush green and luxuriant vegetation. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Palmarium

Day 4 Akanin’ny Nofy

In the morning you go for a one-hour hike in the surrounding rainforest to watch the different lemur species, the sifakas and indris. The variety of plants is also remarkable. Among other things, you will see the carnivorous pitcher plant. In the afternoon, you go by boat to a typical Betsimisaraka fishing village named Andranokoditra to experience first-hand the people and their way of life.

 As soon as you arrive you can hear the thundering water of the Indian Ocean that can be found with only a few minutes walk. In the evening,you can look forward to a night walk following the traces of the famous aye-aye. It is rarely found nowadays in Madagascar because it looks quite terrifying and is, therefore, killed by the natives. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Palmarium

Day 5Akanin’ny Nofy – Antananarivo

Our day starts with a boat trip along the channel from the piers back to Antananarivo. On the trip back you can easily observe the mountain chains of Angavo that constitute the border between two climate zones. And your constant companions are the small villages with their small markets. Stops for taking photos are a must on this tour to catch the landscape as well as the cultural parts of the region. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel de France

Day 6Antananarivo – Antsirabe

The red mud houses and the rice fields are part of the typical characteristics that mark the highlands of Madagascar. Along the way we stop at an aluminium foundry in Ambatolampy. The pots being produced here are sold throughout the whole country. The final stop of today’s trip is the colonial town of Antsirabe. It is the town of the “Pousse Pousse”. This  Indian “vehicle” fills the roads of this spa town founded by the Norwegian mission. The old Hotel des Thermes is proof of a flourishing past of this town. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Coleur Cafe

Day 7: Antsirabe – Ranomafana

Two hours away from Antsirabe you can find the town Ambositra. The name means “where there are a lot of cattle”. Ambositra is famous for its bullfights, as well as for its handicrafts and wood carving. The wood carving is created by the people of the Zafimaniry and has been defined as a world heritage site by the UNESCO. You can get a glance at the finished carvings in the different shops. Your final stop today is Ranomafana. Before dinner we go for an evening walk along the road at the edge of the forest. Be on the lookout for chameleons, frogs and mouse lemurs. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Karibotel

Day 8:Ranomafana

The meeting with the bamboo lemurs is one of the highlights of this journey. The German primatologist Bernhard Meier contributed to the development of nature tourism in the national park of Ranomafana in 1986, thanks to his discovery of a new bamboo lemur species, the golden bamboo lemur. Three bamboo lemur species live in this national park: The eastern lesser bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus), the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) and the golden bamboo lemur. With a little luck you can get a glance at all three. But the rain forest is also impressive because of its beautiful flora and your reward will be a panoramic view over the national park at the end of the hiking. (F, A)

Overnight stay in the Karibotel

Day 9: Ranomafana – Ambalavao

Your first stop is only a few minutes away from your hotel: an impressive waterfall invites you to take some photos. Your next stop is the Anja Park. The following event is the meeting with the wild ring-tailed lemurs. Madagascar iguanas, Von Höhnel’s chameleons and carpet chameleons can also be seen in this dry forest which is managed by farmers. Then you reach Ambalavao where you will find your hotel for today. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Aux Bougainvilliers

Day 10: Ambalavao – Ranohira

In the morning you visit a paper factory. The paper is made from the Avoha tree. This kind of production originated with the Arabic merchants. Look forward to the beautiful pictures and designs Then you visit a silk factory where you can follow the production from the cocoon to the silk scarf. From Ambalavao you drive further south, passing the “gate of the South” which borders the area of the Bara.  They are the original people of Madagascar. For the Maki, becoming a man means participating in a lion hunt, whereas for the Bara, it means stealing a zebu once in his life. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Jardin du Roy

Day 11: Ranohira / Isalo mountains

Today you will visit and hike through the Isalo mountains. The sensational sandstone formations of the Isalo mountains are a refuge for a lot of species of succulents, such as Pachypodium, euphorbias and different aloe and kalanchoe species. Both the landscape and the vegetation let you immerse yourself in a positively unique world. The whole region is holy for the Bara, the natives, because they bury their dead in the rocks. You can look forward to a natural swimming pool in a beautiful location at the end of the hike. You are free to spend the afternoon as you please, enjoying the comforts of the hotel or horseback riding. You end the day at the window of Isalo that offers a beautiful photo opportunity when the last sun rays are shining through and the sky is transforming into an array of red tones.  (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel Jardin du Roy

Day 12: Ranohira – Ifaty

Today’s scenery resembles the landscape of a typical African Savannah. In the village of Andranomaintso you can see the first baobabs of your journey. Before heading to your room, take a walk in the ArboretumThe three quarters of an hour in this botanic garden is well worth it because you can get the chance to see endemic bird species. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Paradisier Hotel

Day 13: Ifaty

After today’s breakfast, you will visit the thorn woods of Ifaty. This forest is the habitat of different species of succulents, such as the baobabs, euphorbias and kalanchoe. Snorkelling, trips on the sea and relaxing is the afternoon’s programme. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Paradisier Hotel

Day 14: Ifaty – Toliary – Antananarivo

Once again, in the morning you get the chance to jump into the Mozambique Channel and feel the comfortable water on your skin before your transfer to the airport of Toliary. Now you fly back to your starting point, the only megacity Antananarivo. (F, A)
Overnight stay in the Hotel de France

Day 15:Antananarivo – journey home

Today you have to say goodbye to the wonderful red island of Madagascar. You will be brought to the airport to start your flight home.

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