MADAGASCAR SOUTH AND THE TSINGY

Meet and greet at Ivato International Airport and transfer to the city. Check in at the hotel in the centre. If time permits, and as an optional activity, city tour and visit of a four hectare private lemur park about 20 km west of the city with 7 species of lemurs that can be seen up close. Feeding and petting is understandably not allowed. Overnight stay in a hotel.

Drive to Antsirabe, on a mostly winding road through the highlands with rice and vegetable fields, through several small traditional villages as well as past naked granite mountains and a number of handicrafts (statues of the Virgin Mary, figures made of fibers from the raffia palm, musical instruments, miniature wooden cars, etc.). Kilometre point zero is at the train station in Antananarivo. Room in the hotel.

In the afternoon, sightseeing tour in Antsirabe with a detour to the historic post office building, the Hotel des Thermes built in 1897, which could well be located on Lake Geneva, and the train station.  This city is also called the "City of Water" because of its hot water springs, but also because of the two crater lakes: Andraikiba and the legendary Lake Tritriva, around which many stories have been told. Visit to the circular lake Andraikiba (9 km) as well as a workshop where miniature bicycles and rickshaws are made from recycled materials and a studio where handicraft objects are made from zebu horn (zebu is the local cattle), which are good souvenirs. The town, which is similar in altitude to Tana, was founded by a Norwegian missionary at the end of the 19th century. Norway is still involved in development aid, runs schools and sends teachers. The population is mainly composed of the Merina and Betsileo tribes. During the French colonial rule (1896 to 1960), Antsirabe became the recreation centre of the plantation owners who were exhausted by the hot and humid climate. In winter, it can get quite cold at night here, and in summer the temperature rarely rises above 25 degrees Celsius.  From the beginning of 1954, the Hotel des Thermes was also the residence of King Mohammed V of Morocco and his family, who had been sent by France into exile here, for a good two years. You can also find some gemstone cutting workshops, but be careful when buying, not everything that shines is real. The region is one of the economic centers of the country: Agriculture, fruit growing, dairy cows, condensed milk, several textile factories, tobacco industry and the well-known three-horses beer is also produced here. An informative visit to the office of the Zebu Cattle Bank at the small market is also well worthwhile. Overnight stay in a hotel.

After breakfast departure to Ranomafana. A good 20 kilometres before the first stop in Ambositra we cross the new Fatihita Bridge and have a good view (right side) of the stone bridge over the river. A short break in Ambositra to visit some of the studios and boutiques of the wood carvers of the local Zafimaniry tribe. They are specialists in marquetry work, wooden 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 on to Ranomafana (another 150 km, the name means "hot water"), then check into the hotel. Before dinner possibility for a walk with flashlights along the road to look for nocturnal animals. With a bit of luck you will discover fast moving brown mouse lemurs, sleeping chameleon species in all sizes, lively frogs etc.  Back to the hotel.

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 flora and fauna up to 1400 metres 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.  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. Then departure towards Fianarantsoa, with a small stop four kilometres above the park entrance, where on the left is the Andriamamovoka waterfall. Opposite on the wet rock face you can often see frogs. Overnight stay at the hotel.

After breakfast drive to Ranohira with a stop in Ambalavao after about 56 km. Visit of the manufactory of the Antemoro paper: a paper made from the bark of the Havoha tree, according to a method probably left by Arabs (on weekends it is often not possible to visit, but sometimes a woman works for demonstration purposes). Wednesday and Thursday morning is the island-wide known big market day for zebu cattle at the southern edge of the village. Ambalavao lies at the foot of the Andringitra massif. Its highest peak is the 2658 meter high Pic Boby, it is also the second highest peak of Madagascar, and you can climb it in a three day tour. About 12 km after Ambalavao there is another stop to visit the small reserve Anja, which was founded in 1999 by more than one hundred inhabitants and the surrounding villages. It lies at the foot of the rock formation called "Three Sisters". Several hundred catta lemurs can be observed there in numerous family groups in their natural environment while resting, climbing or feeding. Finally we continue on a quite good road via Ihosy, the centre of the Bara tribe, and the plateau of Horombe, which is an endless pasture for cattle, to Ranohira. Grass steppes are interrupted by gigantic granite rocks and river courses, in which villages surrounded by greenery spread out under mango trees. Overnight stay at the 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. Also a side trip to the "Window of Isalo (la fenêtre)" at sunset, when the last light makes everything look golden, should not be missed. The rock face with the opening in the centre is a popular photo motif. Not far away is a geological museum with information on the evolution of the entire region.

After breakfast, drive along a mostly straight road, past tall bushes and small cactus forests, interrupted by typical Mahafali tombs, partly decorated with motifs and wooden steles, and mighty baobab trees. In Ilakaka you can still get an impression of the lively and also dangerous life of a once huge sapphire digger city. Visit of the Arboretum of Antsokay, a collection of endemic plants of Madagascar, especially many succulents, which was established decades ago by a Swiss man named Petignat. The son continues to run the 40 hectares site with 1000 species of the south. Drive to Tulear, an important trade centre in the region with a harbour, an oceanographic museum and an attractively designed promenade along the shore. Rickshaw drivers provide passenger transport here. Check-in at the hotel in Tulear.

According to the flight, transfer to the airport for the flight with the domestic airline Tsaradia back to the capital . Meeting at the airport and transfer to hotel, and overnight there.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Morondava. There reception and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure. The third largest port city in the west after Majunga and Tulear has a lively centre with a large market that invites you to stroll around. There are villas along the shore road, and on the long peninsula of Nosy Kely in the south of the town centre, between the river port and the Indian Ocean, there are several luxurious and simple hotels. The population consists of 70 percent fishermen from the Vezo tribe. Overnight stay in a hotel.

Breakfast, followed by an early departure for Tsimafana, including after around 14 km the drive through the world-famous "Baobab Avenue", a tourist attraction lined on both sides by baobab trees, mostly giant Adansonia grandidieri. Nearby is also the "Baobab in love". The government classified the avenue as a "natural monument" in 2007, which should contribute to its permanent preservation. Then we pass Sakalava graves and the special reserve Andranomena to the former Swiss forest station Kirindy with the field station of the German Primate Center Göttingen. Short visit there to see lemurs, snakes, iguanas, birds, fossas etc. By ferry you have to cross the Tsiribihina river to Belo and then you continue to Bekopaka on a mostly sandy road, through dry forest, savannah and you see baobabs from time to time. Shortly before arrival in Bekopaka transfer on local ferry across the Manambolo River. There you can also see some fossils trapped in the rocks. Overnight stay in a hotel.

After breakfast, visit the impressive big Tsingys, which have only recently been opened to the public, the peaks are up to 50 m high there. This karst landscape is formed by closely spaced limestone needles forming a stone forest, these peaks are called tsingy. In the south the 72300 hectare reserve borders the Manambolo River, in the east it is bordered by cliffs up to 400 m high. An annual rainfall of about 1000 mm causes the gorges at the feet of the Tsingys to be extremely humid, while savannah-like conditions prevail on the karst areas. In deeper areas there are lakes and also mangroves. Most of the 650 plant species found in the park are endemic. The diversity of habitats leads to a great wealth of animal species, including predators such as the fossa and the ring-tailed mongoose, various species of lemurs (including sifakas, red lemurs, eastern bamboo lemurs, aye aye, grey mouse lemurs), almost a hundred species of birds (e.g. the Madagascan sea eagle), many species of bats, amphibians and reptiles (e.g. the Madagascan track turtle, leaf-tailed geckos and stump-tailed chameleons). The limestone cliffs were under water for millions of years, and were then washed away by rain and weather and formed into these limestone peaks. This hike takes about three to five hours and is quite strenuous as it is over rough and smooth, uphill and downhill, you sometimes climb ladders and wear a safety belt for safety reasons. The long tour in often very hot weather requires stamina, fitness and surefootedness. In the afternoon, if there is still time, visit the little Tsingys near the park entrance. Like the entire national park, they have been under UNESCO protection as a World Nature Site since 1990.  Overnight stay in a hotel.

Departure after breakfast to Morondava, first again on the local ferry across the Manambolo River, then to Belo sur Tsiribihina. From there on the ferry across the Tsiribihina River, and then again through the Baobab Avenue, with a little luck you will experience there - surely with many other visitors - the sunset, a magical moment and photographic highlight! Then a good half hour's drive to Morondava and overnight stay in a hotel.

Day at leisure on the beach, where floods and storms have left their marks, for walks, or watch the fishermen coming home from fishing, or visit the market etc.

Transfer to the airport and return flight to the capital. Reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel, overnight stay.

Visit a market with Malagasy handicrafts to buy the last souvenirs. Transfer to the airport and departure towards your home.