On horseback in the volcanic Mid-West of the Red Island

Preview:

Flight to Antananarivo,

After breakfast, change and transfer to the Middle West by road.

Visit to Lemurs' Park where several varieties of lemurs live, the symbolic animal of the great Island.

Lunch on the way to start immersing ourselves in the country's customs, before joining Faka Ranch in mid-afternoon and making contact with our horses.

After breakfast, we start our horse expedition gently in the Madagascar Highlands.

Crossing the Sakay plain and the river of the same name.
Lunch in Babet-Ville, a remnant town from the immigration of Reunionese families in the 1950s. To enjoy the sunset with the country's typical light. Downstream of the Lilly river.

We rejoin the horse camp at the edge of the national road.

However, the deterioration of the roads could force us to relocate the horse camp to the edge of the national road. Riders return to Faka Ranch with a car transfer.

After a first night under canvas by the Lily River, we cross it to continue on horseback along tracks of black volcanic stones.

The cone of the Kasigy volcano, of strombolian type, dominates the surroundings. Like an immense checkerboard, it is covered with rectangles of cultivated land stretching from its base to the lips of the crater.

We now ride along a crater lake then descend towards the beautiful Lake Mananasy.

We have lunch on the banks animated by zebus that come to drink there and where children tend them.
The path is sometimes steep and rocky as we climb back towards Soavinandriana. We cross the small town and market on horseback under the astonished gaze of the inhabitants.

We return to the camp where we leave our horses for the night.

By a short car transfer, we go to the village of Ampefy on the banks of the Itasy Lake.

A well-deserved rest at the hotel.

On horseback! After the village of Soavinandriana, we cross rice fields and then tackle a beautiful climb along a narrow path through the crops.

We reach the ridges and enjoy a superb 360° panorama over the Ankaratra mountain range and Lake Itasy.

A walk through the water for almost 1km, before reaching the remains of the old National Road that circles the lake to the South and East.

For part of the afternoon, our horses have fun following the winding turns of this road that runs along the lake to the cheers of countless children, the true wealth of the country, an atmosphere mixed with curiosity and apprehension, but always with smiles and spontaneous joy.

After climbing the steps of the lively market of Manazary, and tasting a nice cold beer from the bottle, leaning against your horse, we head to our camp located on the shore of the magnificent Amparihikely lake.

Aperitif at sunset, observing traditional outrigger canoes and net fishing on the lake.

Finally, we get close to this famous Lake Itasy today, along a beautiful bridle path along the Northern shore.

We stop for a quick lunch after 4 hours of horseback riding at a small restaurant serving typical and delicious dishes

In the afternoon, we will go on a ride along the lake, around the village of Ampefy, a popular tourist site; until the Virgin Island, before returning to the hotel.

Through magnificent volcanic cones, the track leads us towards a wide agricultural plain and the banks of the Lily River.

Two beautiful waterfalls break the tranquil course flowing from the main lake of Itasy.
As a local attraction, children swarm us like flocks of sparrows to sell objects carved from pumice stone.

We now dominate Lily Gorge and pass west of two important volcanic massifs.

Here is the black ribbon of asphalt of the RN1 which connects Antananarivo to Tsiroanomandidy to the west.
We cross it to catch a track along the valley side that takes us to the Andranomandroata geysers.

We enjoy the delights of this natural thermal break and ferruginous water pool.

After the aperitif, we taste a traditional Malagasy dish as we do each evening.

Visit Geyseres

In the arid heat of the Middle West, we discover the magnificent Lake Andranomenabe, where wild ducks (pink-billed ducks and teal) rest safely away from predators. We enjoy a beautiful walk around the lake before admiring the vast Ifanja rice-growing plain, with its more than 3,000 hectares of rice fields. We then return to the geysers.

After lunch, we take time to explore and soak up the peaceful atmosphere of this beautiful region, which remains largely untouched by mass tourism.

We gradually return towards Ampefy after discovering the Devil's Cauldron. This genuine curiosity of the Mazy River or the riverbed that carved its path through the rocks.

We end our horse-riding journey in the Middle-West and the Itasy region.

We say goodbye to the cavalry, to our traveling companions.

After breakfast, we meet our drivers and set off again towards Tana (Antananarivo). On the way, we stop at Lemurs' Park for a visit, where we can discover Madagascar's famous lemurs and enjoy the beautiful botanical surroundings.

We then continue our journey and expect to arrive back in the Malagasy capital by the end of the day.

Day reserved for visiting the city and the craft market on Digue Road.

Transfer in the evening to the airport, assistance with boarding on the international flight.

End of our services, misaotra and see you soon.