11-Days of Discovering Andasibe, Morondava, Ampefy & More

Highlights: Andasibe National Park: Ultimate rainforest safari & home of the largest lemurs. Famous Baobab Avenue: Iconic, picture-perfect sunsets over ancient giants. Kirindy Forest: Exceptional wildlife spotting, from playful lemurs to unique predators. The Tsingy: A spectacular trek through Madagascar’s world-famous limestone labyrinths. Ampefy: Volcanic landscapes, rushing geysers, and the stunning Lily Waterfall. Itinerary: Day 1: Antananarivo – Andasibe After breakfast at the hotel, depart for a visit to to Peyreiras Reptile Reserve (3 hours on drive) to see up close captive Panther Chameleons, Island Chameleons, Stump-tailed Chameleons, Brookesia Chameleons, Golden Mantella Frogs, Tomato Frogs, Madagascar Tree Boas, Leaf-nosed Snakes, Cat-eyed Snakes, Tenrecs, numerous species of Leaf-tailed Geckos. The curators of the reserve usually take the animals out of their enclosures to allow close photographs. Continue to Andasibe with stops at the landscapes for photos and any break if necessary. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is a 155 square kilometre protected area, located about 150 km east of Antananarivo, consisting principally of primary growth forest in Alaotra-Mangoro Region in eastern Madagascar. A night walk is organised. Overnight at Andasibe Cyperus Hotel Day 2: Andasibe After breakfast, meet with your guide with for the visit of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and trek along trails to see wild diademed sifakas, wooly sifakas, common brown lemur and the famous Indri Indri. Explore the trails for orchids and birdlife. In the afternoon, visit of the VOI park which belong to the community of local population. Overnight at Andasibe Cyperus Hotel Day 3: Andasibe – Antananarivo – Antsirabe After breakfast, visit of the private park of Vakona Lodge for observing lemurs and crocodiles, then head back to Antananarivo. Then continue to Antsirabe. The drive takes about 5 hours from Antananarivo to Antsirabe where you stop for lunch. There will be stops for photos and break if necessary. Overnight at Soalia Antsirabe Hotel Day 4: Antsirabe – Miandrivazo Early in the morning, depart to Antsirabe and continue to Miandrivazo for the road trip to Morondava. The drive takes about five (5) hours from Antananarivo to Antsirabe where you stop for lunch. There will be stops for photos and break if necessary. After lunch, you will continue the road to Miandrivazo. Overnight at Soalia Miandrivazo Hotel Day 5: Miandrivazo – Morondava – Kirindy After breakfast, you will continue the road trip to Morondava which takes you about 6 hours. There will be stops for photos and break if necessary. Arrive on time for great pictures when the sun is low, raking light, and smooth trunks reflect the orange rays of the sun at the Avenue of Baobabs. Overnight at Relais du Kirindy Hotel Day 6: Kirindy – Belo – Bekopaka After breakfast, drive to the Tsingy of Bemaraha. There will be lunch at Belo Sur Tsiribihina, after that you will head north on a drive-by land track well- known as World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Cross the two rivers, Tsiribihina and Manambolo by a small car ferry before arriving at Bekopaka village. Bekopaka is a rural municipality in western Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Antsalova, which is a part of Melaky Region. Bekopaka is served by a local airport, and primary and junior level secondary education are available in town.The most important crop is rice, while other important products are bananas, maize and cassava. Bekopaka is situated on the Manambolo River. The road to Bekopaka is a secondary highway in Madagascar of 198 km, running from Morondava to Bekopaka. Only the first 15km are paved, the remaining is unpaved Overnight at Olympe du Bemaraha Hotel Day 7: Tsingy de Bemaraha After breakfast, visit of the Tsingy, one of the most extraordinary sites with the real cathedral of limestone. The dense network of faults, cracks, and blocks of limestone carved in blades is one of the most prominent landscapes of Madagascar. There are 200 million years when the sea of Bemaraha which cover this region. There are six species of lemurs, reptiles and 53 varieties of birds among the marvels which are also the housing environment of the smallest sorts of a chameleon, the Brookesia and where you can appreciate the magnificent sunset. The Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is a national park located in northwest Madagascar. The national park centers on two geological formations : the Great Tsingy and the Little Tsingy, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is crossed by the Manambolo River. The Tsingys are karstic plateaus in which groundwater has undercut the elevated uplands, and has gouged caverns and fissures into the limestone. In several regions on western Madagascar, centering on the park and adjacent Nature Reserve, the superposition of vertical and horizontal erosion patterns has created dramatic “forests” of limestone needles. The word tsingy is indigenous to the Malagasy language as a description of the karst badlands of Madagascar. The word can be translated into English as where one cannot walk barefoot. Overnight at Olympe du Bemaraha Hotel Day 8: Bekopaka – Belo – Morondava Drive to Morondava town via the famous “Allée des Baobabs”. Arrive on time for great pictures when the sun is low, raking light, and smooth trunks reflect the orange rays of the sun. Settle at the hotel before the sea for dinner. Lunch at Belo sur Tsiribihina. The Avenue of the Baobabs, or Alley of the Baobabs, is a prominent group of Grandidier’ baobabs lining the unpaved road between Morondava and Belon’i Tsiribihina in the Menabe region of western Madagascar. Its striking landscape draws travelers from around the world, making it one of the most visited locations in the region. The trees, which are endemic to Madagascar, are about 30 m in height. The baobab trees, known locally as renala are a legacy of the dense tropical forests that once thrived on Madagascar. The trees did not originally tower in isolation over the sere landscape of scrub, but stood in dense forest. Overnight at Baobab Café Hotel Day 9: Morondava – Antananarivo (by flight) After breakfast, a visit of the Village of Betania is organized before one guide from the company is taking care of you from the hotel for your domestic flight transfer to Antananarivo. Overnight at San Cristobal Hotel Day 10: Antananarivo – Ampefy After breakfast, road trip to Ampefy which is a beautiful village situated at 120 km west of Antananarivo. It is one of the most appreciated place to spend the week end for people from the city and for tourist. The visit starts with the discovery of Geyser, a place for swimming then you reach the hotel and have lunch. In the afternoon, embarque in a dugout canoe, crossing Itasy lake then arrival at Ilot de la Vierge. Overnight at Eucalyptus Hotel Day 11: Ampefy – Antananarivo After breakfast, leave the hotel for the visit of the waterfall of Lily then head back to Antananarivo. There is a stop for the visit at Lemur’s Park which is a private, 5-ha site located 22 km Southwest of Antananarivo along the RN1 (towards Ampefy), between the villages of Fenoarivo and Imerintsiatosika. It was founded about 10 years ago by Laurent Amouric and Maxime Allorge (grandson of Pierre Boiteau, Founding Director of the Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza in Antananarivo), with the goal of showing lemurs to the public and eventually reintroducing captive-born lemurs back into the wild. After the visit, head back to Antananarivo, the ride is about 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach your hotel. Overnight at San Cristobal Hotel Included: Accommodations in a bed and breakfast Domestic flight (one way) Snacks on the roads All the transfers from and to the airport A 4×4 car with driver and fuel Raft while crossing in Bekopaka A large bottle of water per person English-speaking guide All visits and excursions mentioned in the program Not Included: The international flights The visa fees Meals Drinks Travel Insurance