MADAGASCAR SOUTH TOUR WITH  AMBOHITSARA

Meeting at the airport and transfer to the city. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Tulear, there reception and transfer to Ifaty, a beautiful, gently sloping beach about 26 km north of Tulear, protected by a coral reef. On the way you can see various endemic thorn bush species and mangroves. Overnight stay in a hotel.

Resting on the beach, possibility of water sports (diving and snorkeling excursions on the coral reef, surfing, etc.) or walks in the surroundings; there are many interesting plants (didiera madagascariensis, euphorbiacées, jujubiers, cactus...) and also birds to see. Optionally, you can also visit the 60 hectare Reniala reserve with its mighty baobabs in the immediate vicinity of the turtle sanctuary. There are two hiking trails of 1.5- and 2.5-hours length. The park is open daily from 5.30 a.m. (for ornithologists) to 4.30 p.m. Overnight stay again in the same hotel.

After breakfast transfer back to Tulear, then continue by car or bus and drive to Ranohira. Optional visit of the Arboretum of Antsokay, a collection of endemic plants of Madagascar, especially many succulents, which was established decades ago by a Swiss named Petignat. The son continues to run the 40 hectare site with 1000 species of the south. After Tulear, drive along a mostly straight road, past tall bushes and small cactus forests, interrupted by typical Mahafaly burial sites, some with motifs and wooden steles, and mighty baobab trees. Overnight in a hotel.

Morning hike of about 3 to 5 hours (on mostly rocky paths, sometimes a bit steep) with a local guide in the 81,540 hectare Isalo National Park: rugged sandstone rock massifs, an exceptional flora and fauna, including Pachypodium - which translates as elephant paw, gorges, various endemic plants, but also lemurs (kattas, sifakas, brown lemurs) are among the attractions. Visit of the " natural swimming pool", where you can cool down and refresh yourself, if it is not filled with sand after heavy rainfalls. There are numerous hiking and trekking possibilities in the valley of the monkeys and rats and around it. In a part of the park there are also trails that are also passable by mountain bike, and camping is possible, but the infrastructure is very simple. The office of Madagascar National Parks for tour registration and ticket purchase is in the centre of Ranohira next to the police.

After breakfast drive to Fianarantsoa (means "where you learn good things"). About 12 km before Ambalavao there is a stop to visit the small reserve Anja, which was founded in 1999 by over 100 residents and villages in the neighbourhood in the middle of mighty granite rocks. Several hundred catta lemurs can be observed there in their natural environment. Caves and viewpoints provide additional enrichment to the tour, which can last between 45 minutes and 5 hours. Next stop is Ambalavao to see the production of Antemoro paper, which is made from the bark of the Havoha tree using a method once left behind by the Arabs (Antemoro Paper Manufactory is usually closed on Sundays). Continuing on to Fianarantsoa, Fianarantsoa is also the home of the island's car industry: the Mazana II is made here by hand and the Papamobile during the Pope's visit in 1989 and 2019 came from the Ankofafalahy district. Then room occupation in the hotel, overnight stay.

After breakfast journey with the "Train of Life" or "Jungle Express" to Manakara, over 67 bridges and through 48 tunnels, through the tropical forest to the east coast to Manakara at the Indian Ocean. At each station, depending on the season, the population offers everything that is typical for the area, from crayfish to grilled fish, bananas, mandarins, cassava and rice cake. In the spring of 2020, three locomotives from Spain and also cars of the "Mandarinli" from Switzerland arrived, which should now guarantee a regulated course of the 163.4 kilometre long train journey for passengers from all over the world and locals, for which only a decrepit locomotive was available before the new ones arrived. The line was built between 1926 and 1936 and is said to have claimed the lives of several thousand construction workers, with around 5000 men employed each year. Many tracks came from Alsace or as war levies from Germany and were brought by ship to Madagascar by the French. In Manakara transfer to the hotel, overnight stay in the hotel.

Drive to Mananjary, first 104 km to the crossroads in Irondro and then turn right for another 61 km to the day's final destination, passing various plantations (coffee, vanilla, pepper). The area is quite fertile. In Mananjary rest of the day at leisure on the beach, overnight stay in hotel.

About every seven years there is a big festival in Mananjary, where the male children of the Antambahoaka tribe, born since the last festival, are circumcised. The next ceremony will be in 2021. The custom goes back to a certain Zafi-Ramina, the progenitor of the ethnic group, who is said to have immigrated from Mecca and "introduced" Islam - and with him circumcision. In the past, the Antambahoaka had a tradition that twins had to be rejected immediately as a bringer of doom. After intensive educational work, this has since ceased.

Board the boat and travel 60 km along the Pangalanes Canal. The guests can expect a very varied trip of several hours through original landscapes with small villages and plantations. The canal is the lifeline of this area, and all supplies and transports go via this waterway, as there is no road on land. On the way you will see pirogues carrying the local Toka Gasy (self made liquor), the Betsa Betsa (a kind of fermented palm wine) or bananas or other fruits and other goods, which are often produced here. Overnight stay in Ambohitsara in simple but clean bungalows, between Pangalanes channel and the sea.

In the morning stay in Ambohitsara and surroundings. Visit to the statue of the "white elephant", which according to researchers is supposed to represent a pig, whose origin still causes archaeologists headaches. This holy statue "Vatomasina" made of soapstone has supposedly been looking northeast, its home: the border area of Siberia and North China, for over 2000 years.  A walk through the village is also part of the program; here you can still see the real Madagascar, far away from the big cities and the stream of tourists. In the afternoon boat trip back to Mananjary. On the way you can still see the place where Jean Laborde was shipwrecked. Overnight stay in a hotel in Mananjary. Another option would be a boat trip to Mahanoro in two more days. From there, one could continue the tour by car further north to Tamatave, or return by car via Andasibe to Antananarivo. The Pangalanes Canal cannot be navigated on the Mahanoro- Vatomandry route at the moment, it is overgrown with water hyacinths. It is planned to dredge this section in the near future.

Drive to Ranomafana on a winding road. On the way you can see among other things many Ravinala fan palms. Overnight stay at the hotel in Ranomafana.

Today we stay in Ranomafana; breakfast, followed by a morning visit with a well-trained local nature guide to the 41'601 hectare national park on the Namorona River with its extraordinary fauna and flora up to 1400 meters above sea level, including the Red-bellied lemur, the Red-fronted lemur, and the Golden Bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus), which was only discovered in 1986. In this magnificent national park with mountain rainforest, founded in 1991, there are over 100 bird species, 68 of which only occur in Madagascar, then various species of ferns, mosses, orchids and giant bamboo. This hike takes about three to four hours and is quite strenuous as it goes over rough and smooth, up and downhill and on narrow forest paths. It requires endurance, fitness and surefootedness. Take your time for the trail and observations along the way. In the afternoon it is worth visiting the small market in the centre of Ranomafana and the hot springs with public swimming pool. On the way there, a suspension bridge has been built to replace the steel structure that was destroyed by a cyclone a few years ago. Before dinner you can take a night walk along the road next to the National Park to discover the nocturnal animals, with a bit of luck you will see fast moving brown mouse makis, sleeping chameleon species in all sizes, lively frogs etc.  Back to the hotel and overnight.

Breakfast, then departure towards the National road No. 7, with a small stop four kilometres above the park entrance, where you will see the Andriamamovoka waterfall on the left. Opposite on the wet rock face you can often see frogs. The next small stop on the way is in Ambositra for a visit to some of the studios and boutiques of the carvers of the local Zafimaniry tribe. They are specialists in marquetry work, wood sculptures and figures of all kinds. You can also buy beautiful silk scarves from Soatanana and the surrounding area. Trading is common. The eye-catcher in the centre is a mighty Benedictine monastery opposite the cathedral. On Saturdays there is a big weekly market. Also the farmers from the surrounding area offer their goods here, mostly agricultural or from the village blacksmith. Here you can stroll peacefully without being disturbed. Drive to Antsirabe. Overnight stay in a hotel.

City tour in Antsirabe, a city also called "City of Water", because of its many hot water springs. Visit to the workshop where miniature bicycles and rickshaws are made from recycled materials, and a workshop where handicraft objects are made from zebu (the local cattle) horn, which are good souvenirs.

Afterwards drive to Antananarivo, overnight stay in hotel. 

Depending on the departure time of your international flight, you may be able to visit the historical sites of Ambohimanga (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001). It is the holy city of Merina, and was once the residence of the most powerful of all Merina princes, King Andrianampoinimerina. Until the conquest and final subjugation by the French in 1896, no foreigner was allowed to enter it. It had seven city gates, and the most powerful of them still serves as the entrance gate to the place today. Next to the gate there is a huge, smoothly polished and almost circular stone slab. In former times it was rolled every evening in front of the entrance gate. From the top of the "Blue Hill" - that is the translation of Ambohimanga – at 1468 meters of altitude, you have a beautiful view of Tana and the surrounding area.

Afterwards visit a market with Malagasy handicrafts to buy last souvenirs and, if the flight is late in the evening, day use of a room in the hotel. Afterwards transfer to the airport and check-in for departure for departure for the flight home.