MADAGASCAR NORTH

Meeting at Ivato international airport and transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Diego Suarez, a cosmopolitan, lively city which is called Antsiranana in the local language, with the "sugar loaf" in the bay towards Ramena. The first European discoverers of this paradise spot on earth were the Portuguese sailors Diego Diaz and Fernando Suarez around 1500, after whom the city was then named by the French. Reception at the airport and drive to the small town of Joffreville southwest of Diego-Suarez, which was founded by the French Foreign Legion in 1950 and developed into a resort for exhausted Foreign Legionnaires in cool mountain air. Since the mid-1990s, the little town has been filled with life: It serves as a starting point for a visit to the 18,200 hectare Montagne d`Ambre National Park with seven species of lemurs, over 70 species of birds and 24 amphibians. The park also includes several waterfalls up to 80 metres high, several river courses and crater lakes. Picnic lunch. Overnight at the hotel in Joffreville.

Breakfast, then departure to the south. On the way visit the Tsingy rouge, weather conditions permitting (red laterite earth with very beautiful crystal formations). Afterwards drive to Ankarana (meaning "sharp stone"), a protected nature reserve. There you can admire the unique limestone formations called "Tsingy" in Malagasy language, as well as some caves where you can see stalactites and stalagmites and bats in some places.

Similar to the Tsingy de Bemaraha and of Namoroka, this is an eroded limestone plateau where wind and weather have formed needle-sharp rocky peaks. Some of the valleys, some of them deep, are closed off from the outside world and are crossed by streams that often disappear into underground cave systems, for example in the hole called "Perte de rivière". These streams can dry up in the dry season, and in the rainy season they can quickly swell up into rivers. Picnic lunch. Overnight stay in a hotel on the edge of the National Park.

Excursion to explore this reserve in a hike of several hours. If the spectacular landscape is not reason enough to visit the Tsingy du Nord, as they are also called, you will find an interesting flora and fauna. There are eleven species of lemurs, including the rare fingered animal (Aye Aye). Picnic lunch. Overnight stay in a hotel on the edge of the National Park.

Departure after breakfast to Ankify, a small village on the beach, then transfer by boat to Nosy Be Island. On the way we pass the long pretty town of Ambilobe on the Mahavavy River. In the fields around the village a large part of the Malagasy sugar cane harvest is cultivated and processed in a nearby factory, some of it into rum. The cocoa and spice plantations in the area are also important employers. From Ankify the ferries leave for Nosy Be. Due to often high waves, however, they are no longer allowed to sail to the perfume island with its tropical picture book landscape in the afternoon. After arrival in Nosy Be transfer by car to the hotel. Overnight stay in Nosy Be.

Days at leisure. Overnight stay at the hotel. As an option for an extra charge "mini-cruise" to Nosy Komba, a small neighbouring island, where you can see some lemurs (black lemurs, females are brown, the males are deep black) Vanilla is also cultivated there. A 622 meter high volcano can be climbed. There is no road, no cars... Then on to the small island of Nosy Tany Kely with its underwater reserve (since 2011, 200 hectares of national marine park), a snorkeling paradise rich in various species of fish, starfish, crabs, corals and several species of algae. The water around this island is clear and mostly calm. A picnic on the beach is served on request. Other excursions can be made for an extra charge, e.g. to the Lokobe Reserve to discover a rainforest with lemurs and others during a jungle hike lasting several hours.

Or to Mount Passot, the highest peak on the island at 329 meters, where you can admire the surrounding lakes and islands and the sunset. Or to Lemuria Land, an animal and plant park, which was established in 2010 and where you can see bird, reptile and lemur species but also numerous orchids. 

Back to Nosy Be and overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport and flight back to the capital city of the Big Island. Meeting at the airport and transfer to the city. Overnight at the 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 the flight home.