Natural Wonders of Madagascar

Flight to Antananarivo via Paris. Arrive late evening in the Madagascan capital and transfer to our accommodation (1 night)

Transfer to the airport for our flight to Tulear, in the south of the island (1 night) for an introduction to the island’s endemic flora at the Antsokay Arboretum, before we begin our tour of the national parks.

Journey to Ranohira and Isalo National Park (3 nights). En route we stop to walk in the Zombitse National Park (approximately 2 hours), enjoying the wildlife there before driving on to Isalo. Isalo is home to some of the most stunning scenery on the island, and affords you a fantastic chance of being able to observe the endearing ring-tailed lemurs. 

We explore rocky plateau overlooking the canyons and the sandstone cliffs of the magnificent Isalo National Park. Its mountains are home to over 400 species of flora. There are some amazing natural pools and waterfalls on the walks including the Black and Blue Swimming Pools.

Walks are up to 10km with a maximum 350m of ascent. Some parts ascend through the canyon with steps to the pools.

Drive to Ambalavao with an afternoon at leisure to take advantage of the hotels facilities. The following morning we drive to Tsaranoro for a full day walk at Iharavaratra, where our path will cross paddy fields before reaching the forest to search for more ring tailed lemurs. Our walk includes a picnic lunch.

Iharavaratra – full day of walking - maximum ascent of 300m

En route to Fianarantsoa (2 nights), we stop to explore the community reserve of Anja and look for chameleon. We’ll also visit the Antemoro paper factory, which still shows the production of the handmade paper made from the bark of wild mulberry trees. Village walks on the following day introduce us to the Betsileo culture and their traditions as masters in rice cultivation. We share a typical Malagasy lunch at the home of one of the families.

Anja reserve has some narrow rocky paths with 150m of ascent.

Betsileo countryside approximately 3 hours with some 350m of descent

The lush rainforests of Ranomafana National Park (2 nights) afford us excellent opportunities to discover a vast diversity of flora and fauna. We shall visit the Valbio Research center and the school funded by the center. The next day’s full day exploration of the National Park gives us the best chance of spotting wildlife. If we’re lucky we may see the park’s famous resident, the golden bamboo lemur.

Undulating trails through the park 3 – 4 hours of walking. Ascent varies between 150m – 550m.

Today we make our way to Antsirabe (2 nights). Our stay here is at a guesthouse run by the charity Residence Madalief, which supports projects in the local community and gives us a fantastic opportunity to support this worthwhile charity. Walks in the area discover the surrounding villages and the beautiful Lake Tritriva.

Morning village walk approximately 3 hours with between 150m – 200m of ascent

Lake Tritriva – gentle, mostly flat walking.

We take a morning city tour of Antsirabe before heading back to the capital in the afternoon.

We explore the capital city and its surroundings with our historian guide for a heritage walk in the old city of Tana. We'll enjoy a farewell dinner at our hotel before our late evening transfer to the airport for our return flight.