Duration:
23
Days
Group size:
Single supplement:
Destinations:
Departs From:
Ends In:
Travel Styles:
Booking validity:
–
Best Months to Visit
Upon arrival into Ivato International Airport (TNR) after completing immigration formalities, collect your baggage and proceed to the exit. Here you will be met by an Alluring Africa representative and transferred to Maison Gallieni where you will stay for one night.
‘Tana’ – as the locals call it has fascinating traditional architecture and a more Indonesian influence than the rest of Madagascar. Maison Gallieni is a restored colonial mansion with an elegant mix of modern and traditional décor. Take a dip in the pool and enjoy the lovely views over the city before dinner.
Location:
LocationAntananarivo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Maison Gallieni
Type:
Accommodation Type Bed & Breakfast
Room Basis:
Room Basis Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
After an early breakfast, your guide will collect you from your hotel and drive you to Andasibe, a stunning rainforest park, about 4 hours’ drive from the city, where you will stay at Mantadia Lodge for two nights. Arrive in time for lunch.
The park consists of two protected areas, the Perinet Special Reserve and Mantadia National Park. Perinet is world famous for its population of Indri lemurs, which are the largest living lemur species. The journey to Andasibe offers first time visitors to Madagascar an introduction to rural life with rice fields, redbrick houses and roadside stalls selling seasonal fruits and vegetables lining the route.
This afternoon, visit a private reserve operated by local NGO Mitsinjo. The NGO funds reforestation, community education and sensitization to conservation issues as well as running Madagascar’s first amphibian captive-breeding facility. Here you will see a stunning array of wildlife and can also plant an indigenous species along the reforestation trail.
Location:
LocationAndasibe
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mantadia Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, enjoy a visit to the 810 ha Perinet Reserve with a local guide in search of the Indri indri. With a barely visible tail, black and white markings and a surprised teddy–bear face, this lemur is one of the few animals in the world that cannot survive in captivity. There are another 11 species of lemur to spot as you walk through the rainforest. You may find a troop of grey bamboo lemurs, common brown lemur, diademed sifaka and the black and white ruffed lemur.
Birdwatchers should look out for the velvet asity, the blue coua and the Nuthatch vanga and many more endemic species. Perinet is home to many reptiles, invertebrates, and some of Madagascar’s over a thousand orchid species. A night walk will be organized in late evening in the forest surrounding the reserve with a local guide. You will see a variety of nocturnal lemurs: mouse lemurs, white footed sportive lemur, fat-tailed dwarf lemur, as well as the woolly lemur.
Location:
LocationAndasibe
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mantadia Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast you will head to Mantadia National Park (1.5 hour drive) with a picnic lunch. Look for some of the lemur species in this stunning park including the Indri indri, diademed sifaka, grey bamboo lemur, red-bellied lemur and white ruffed lemur. While the trails are slightly more difficult, the rewards are great as the forest is taller, wilder and less crowded than Perinet.
There are an abundance of birds including the scaly ground roller, the pitta-like ground roller and the red-breasted coua. This is a naturalist’s goldmine with many seldom seen species of mammals, reptiles and birds. Enjoy a picnic by the Rianasoa Waterfall before hiking back to the vehicle and return to the lodge. In the evening you may choose to go on another night walk with your local guide.
Location:
LocationAndasibe
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mantadia Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
Return to Antanananarivo, where you will stay at Relais Des Plateaux near the airport for one night.
Enjoy the heated swimming pool and newly built spa with sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, gym and spa therapies using traditional Malagasy remedies.
Location:
LocationAntananarivo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Relais des Plateaux
Type:
Accommodation Type Guest House
Room Basis:
Room Basis Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
Transfer to the airport for the scheduled charter flight to Ifotaka (2 – 3 hours). Upon arrival you will be met by our guide and vehicle and transferred to Mandrare River Camp where you will stay for three nights.
Settle into your tent and enjoy the majestic views over the Mandrare River. Around 5pm you will depart for a night walk in the Forest of Zenavo. This is a fantastic way to see diurnal lemurs bedding down, and the nocturnal lemurs begin to wake in the eerie and prehistoric Spiny Forest. You will spot sifakas and sleeping white-foot sportive lemurs, then once the sun has set, two mouse lemur species, sleeping birds, chameleons, owls and now active sportive lemurs.
Location:
LocationIfotaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mandrare River Camp
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
After breakfast you will head out to the stunning Sacred Gallery Forest to the south of the camp. Depending on the river depth, you will walk or take a boat across the Mandrare River to reach this largely deciduous forest. Inquisitive groups of ring tailed lemurs and the always entertaining Verreaux sifaka are the highlight of this excursion.
Return to camp for lunch and a relaxed afternoon by the pool. In late afternoon, head for a walk through the Sacred Spiny Forest filled with the ancestral tombs of the local Antandroy tribe, as well as an extraordinary array of flora and fauna, unique to the spiny forest. Your English speaking guide and a tracker from the local community will give you an introduction to Antandroy culture and customs. Your visit is followed by sundowners on the Mandrare River banks.
Location:
LocationIfotaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mandrare River Camp
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
After a cup of tea or coffee head to the Spiny Forest for an early morning walk. Witness the sunlight break through the octopus trees while looking out for the many endemic birds such as crested coua, a variety of vangas and the running coua.
Head back to camp for a sumptuous breakfast followed by a visit to the local market (on Thursdays and Saturdays) or the local village to meet the fascinating Antandroy tribe.
Lunch will be served at the camp followed by a relaxed afternoon watching life along the river from your tent terrace.
At 5:00 pm, depart for a sundowner amidst the baobabs. Watching the sun set and moon rise with a view across the Baobabs to the mountains beyond is a magical experience. In the evening the local village may come to perform beautiful traditional dances, accompanied by singing and music. Song and dance is at the heart of Antandroy culture and is used to accompany the major rituals and events of everyday life.
Location:
LocationIfotaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Mandrare River Camp
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
Location:
LocationManafiafy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
Location:
LocationManafiafy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
Location:
LocationManafiafy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board Plus – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Activities
Transfer to the airstrip for the short charter flight to Fort Dauphin with connection to Antananarivo. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to Relais Des Plateaux where you will stay for one night.
Location:
LocationAntananarivo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Relais des Plateaux
Type:
Accommodation Type Guest House
Room Basis:
Room Basis Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
After breakfast, transfer to the airport in time for the scheduled charter flight to Morondava. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to Palissandre Cote Ouest Hotel where you will stay for two nights.
Morondava is situated in the heart of Sakalava territory and is known for its elaborately sculpted wooden royal tombs. These tombs are frequently decorated with well-executed, funerary carvings representing life and fertility. In the late afternoon, you will drive to the “Allée des Baobabs” to enjoy the gorgeous sunset.
Location:
LocationMorondava
Accommodation:
Accommodation Palissandre Cote Ouest
Type:
Accommodation Type Resort
Room Basis:
Room Basis Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
After an early breakfast drive 50km to the north-east of Morondava to the Kirindy Reserve. This is a privately managed forest that is known as the best place in Madagascar to see the elusive fossa. It is also home to the very cute Madagascar Giant Jumping Rat, endemic to this forest, and 8 lemur species including Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur which is endemic to Kirindy.
Birdwatchers will enjoy the 70 bird species including the rare White-Breasted Mesite. The landscape is dry deciduous forest interspersed with towering baobab trees. Three out of the island’s seven baobab species are found here. After a leisurely picnic lunch, you will drive back to Morondava.
Location:
LocationMorondava
Accommodation:
Accommodation Palissandre Cote Ouest
Type:
Accommodation Type Resort
Room Basis:
Room Basis Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
An early start by 4×4 vehicle to the Tsingy, which is 235km/12 hour drive full of adventure and wildlife on the red bumpy road!
Birdwatchers are very welcome, as a wide variety of species await you on the way. Apart from that, you will have the opportunity to admire different landscape, the spiny forest growing on the dry land and the baobabs.
At around midday you will have lunch at Belo, after crossing the river by ferry with your car during which you will see the everyday life of people like those working in the fields, fishing, making their small business by selling food and snacks to travelers or to workers.
Arrive in Bekopaka in the late afternoon, then after the last ferry crossing, continue through the village until you you reach Le Soleil des Tsingy where you will stay for three nights.
Location:
LocationBekopaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Le Soleil des Tsingy
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, depart on a full day exploration of the “Grand Tsingy.” The walk itself is an adventure: on tiptoe over the sharp roof of the Tsingy, crossing the high roped-bridge, and meandering through pockets of dry deciduous forest. This unique site, a virtual forest of 50 meter high limestone peaks is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and located about 20km from the village of Bekopaka. The Tsingy are razor sharp pinnacles produced by the erosion of limestone massifs over millions of years. The Tsingy shelters a startling array of wildlife: 11 species of lemur (including Verreaux and Decken’s sifaka and the red-fronted brown lemurs), 103 species of terrestrial and aquatic birds, 15 species of bats, 22 species of amphibians and a variety of reptiles.
Location:
LocationBekopaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Le Soleil des Tsingy
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning we will head to Belo sur Tsiribihina and on to visit the Manambolo gorge, home to many interesting rock formations. We travel by dug-out canoe to see the Tombs of the Vazimba tribe from the river. These ancient people were the original inhabitants of Madagascar and grew no more than one metre tall. We spend the afternoon visiting the small Tsingy in The Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park.
Location:
LocationBekopaka
Accommodation:
Accommodation Le Soleil des Tsingy
Type:
Accommodation Type Hotel
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, we transfer back to Morondava (12 hours) with a short stop at “Alee des baobabs” en route, to enjoy the gorgeous sunset.
Reach Palissandre Cote Ouest for dinner and overnight stay.
Location:
LocationMorondava
Accommodation:
Accommodation Palissandre Cote Ouest
Type:
Accommodation Type Resort
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
Transfer to the airport in time for the scheduled charter flight to Antananarivo. Upon arrival into Ivato Airport you will be met and transferred to Relais Des Plateaux where you will stay for one night.
Location:
LocationAntananarivo
Accommodation:
Accommodation Relais des Plateaux
Type:
Accommodation Type Guest House
Room Basis:
Room Basis Half Board – Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
After an early breakfast, transfer to Ivato Airport in time for your scheduled charter to Anjajavy. Upon arrival you will be greeted by a hotel staff member and transferred to Anjajavy Lodge where you will stay in a seaview villa for five nights.
Anjajavy Lodge is located within a 450 hectare nature reserve on Madagascar’s north-west coast. The lodge’s 25 duplex, rosewood villas all have private decks overlooking the ocean. Meals can be served in an enclosed oasis in the hotel grounds or on the beach. The surrounding forest is alive with lemurs, chameleons, malachite kingfishers and hummingbirds.
At 5:30 pm you will depart for a night walk in the reserve to spot a variety of nocturnal lemurs. While the reserve’s show-stoppers are undoubtedly the charismatic coquerel’s sifakas, the hours of darkness also have their star performers. Weighing a mere 63 grams, danfoss mouse lemurs scamper about in the shrubbery around the reserve just after nightfall, springing from branch to branch, quick as a flash, in search of food. If you hear a strange squeal coming from the tree tops, then you have probably found a Grewcock’s sportive lemur. Other mammals to spot are the endemic tsingy tuft-tailed rat, Commerson’s leaf-nosed bat, or Madagascar’s largest predator – the rare and elusive fossa.
Location:
LocationAnjajavy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Anjajavy Le Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning, depart for a walk along the ‘Chemin des Crabes’ to see the fabulous birdlife, beautiful baobabs and of course, the famous hairy crab. Even if bird watching isn’t your thing, you can’t help but be enchanted by the kaleidoscope of colors and shapes of the reserve’s common birds, from the vibrant red fody and Souimanga sunbird to the exotic paradise flycatcher and sickle-billed vanga. It is one of the best places to spot the regal Madagascar fish eagle, shy crested Ibis, or rare Madagascar sacred Ibis. At the end of the walk, you will visit a small cave where you will find a fossilized lemur skull, stalactites and sharks’ teeth. You will return to the lodge for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.
Location:
LocationAnjajavy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Anjajavy Le Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
This morning you will enjoy a long walk along the Giant’s Causeway and King’s Alley. You will discover extremely ancient baobab trees, tsingy rock formations found only in Madagascar, along with a variety of lemurs including the Coquerel’s sifakas. These remarkable animals live in family groups of up to 10 individuals, and though they are perfectly adapted to life in the trees they often descend to the ground too. Unlike the famous Verreaux’s sifaka from southern Madagascar with its characteristic sideways dance, the Coquerel’s sifaka bounces across the ground like a mini kangaroo! The sifakas, along with troops of common brown lemurs, roam freely in the gardens and surrounding reserve. You will return to the lodge for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.
Location:
LocationAnjajavy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Anjajavy Le Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis Full Board – Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and Lunch
Transfer to the airstrip for the scheduled charter flight to Antananarivo to connect with your homebound flight.
Location:
LocationAnjajavy
Accommodation:
Accommodation Anjajavy Le Lodge
Type:
Accommodation Type Lodge
Room Basis:
Room Basis B&B: Bed and Breakfast
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