The Great Southwest: From the Highlands to Tsaranoro, from the Vezo coast to the Tsingy of Bemaraha

You are flying to AntanaAntananarivorivo, the capital of Madagascar.

We leave Antananarivo mid-morning, when the capital's traffic is less dense, and take National Road 7 heading south.

The road crosses the Highlands: a mosaic of terraced rice paddies, cassava and corn fields, hills crowned with villages of red brick houses. A few stops along the way, depending on the markets, allow us to greet the farmers by the roadside.

We have lunch in Behenjy, a small town known throughout the country for its foie gras. Families in the region raise and prepare duck according to know-how passed down from generation to generation, and Behenjy's table is one of the good stops on National Road 7.

We arrive in Antsirabe in mid-afternoon. A spa town founded in the late 19th century around its thermal springs, surrounded by volcanic massifs, it retains the air of a highland resort, with avenues lined with jacarandas.

Late in the afternoon, we take time to discover the town and its craftspeople. Some manufacture, from reclaimed materials, miniatures of bicycles, cars and rickshaws of astonishing precision. Others work with zebu horn, making jewelry, cutlery and decorative objects. The avenues can also be explored by rickshaw, the emblematic means of transport in Antsirabe.

Night in Antsirabe.

Route: approximately 4 hours, 170 km, including the lunch stop.

After breakfast, we leave Antsirabe via Route 7 heading south. The road leaves the volcanic region of Antsirabe and crosses valleys where villages cluster around their churches and markets.

Further south, the road enters Betsileo country, between granite hills and rice-growing valleys. The Betsileo are renowned for their rice cultivation skills, and their terraces follow the slopes all the way to the top of the hills.

We arrive in Ambositra late morning. The small town is the capital of woodcraft. In their workshops, marquetry craftsmen assemble woods of natural colors to compose scenes of daily life: peasants in rice fields, ox carts, pirogues. Sculptors work on statuettes and boxes. The region is also the land of the Zafimaniry, whose art of wood sculpture with geometric motifs is inscribed in Unesco's intangible cultural heritage.

We have the whole afternoon to stroll through the town, climb to its heights and move from one workshop to another, unhurriedly. This is an opportunity to see the craftsmen at work, to understand their gestures and, for those who wish, to take home an object purchased directly from the person who made it. Evenings are cool at this altitude.

Night in Ambositra.

Drive: approximately 2 hours 30 minutes, 95 km.

After breakfast, we continue south on national route 7. The road winds between hills, runs along valleys entirely shaped by rice paddies and crosses villages where brick houses with stories and wooden balconies recall the architecture of the Highlands. It is an entirely human landscape, built by generations of farmers.

We make a few stops along the way, as we encounter markets and landscapes, to walk a little between the rice paddies and observe field work, which changes according to the season: ploughing, transplanting or harvesting.

We arrive in Fianarantsoa late in the morning. The historic capital of the Betsileo people rises in three districts: the lower commercial town, the administrative town and the upper town. The latter, built on a hill, preserves a fine collection of brick houses, churches and paved streets.

In the afternoon, we explore it on foot. The narrow streets climb between old houses up to the churches at the summit, from where the view encompasses the town, the hills and the rice paddies around. The light of late day is most beautiful in this district, still little frequented by travellers, and the inhabitants live there without worrying about visitors.

Night in Fianarantsoa.

Journey: approximately 3 hours, 150 km. Walk in the upper town: approximately 2 hours.

We continue our journey to the Anja Village Reserve. It is at the foot of this granite massif that we set up our camp.

At the end of the day, we venture into the forest where a few families of mischievous ring-tailed lemurs have made their home. We will also have the opportunity to find them again the next morning before our departure. The Anja reserve is managed directly by the villagers. The profits allow for the improvement of living conditions in the surrounding villages.

Continuation towards the south in Bara country and crossing of Madagascar's largest plateau, the deserted Horombe, before catching sight of the village of Ranohira which we reach in late afternoon.

We pass through the villages of Ilakaka and Sakaraha, still on the immense Horombe plateau, small quiet settlements until the discovery of a huge sapphire deposit that transformed them into veritable mining towns worthy of the American Wild West epic.

First glimpse of the baobabs and crossing of the Mahafaly limestone plateau, its famous and impressive tombs topped with funeral sculptures called "Aloalo" and painted with naive scenes of life.

We leave the Tsaranoro valley by track and rejoin national road 7 heading south. The last Betsileo villages fade into the distance, and we enter Bara country, land of herders and vast herds of zebu.

The road then crosses the Horombe plateau, the largest in Madagascar. An immense expanse of grassy savanna stretches out as far as the eye can see, beneath a very wide sky. Villages are rare, and so are trees. The Bara lead their zebu here, which represent far more than wealth for them: they mark a family's rank and accompany each stage of life.

Along the way, we make a few stops to photograph the plateau and stretch our legs. The landscape seems monotonous at first glance, but it changes with the light, and the shadows of clouds race across the golden grasses.

In early afternoon, a line of rugged reliefs appears on the horizon: the Isalo massif. The road runs along its sandstone cliffs, carved into towers, arches and canyons, before reaching the village of Ranohira, gateway to the national park.

We settle in for two nights. At the end of the day, the low sun sets the cliffs ablaze, and this is the best time for a short walk around the accommodation, among the rock formations.

Track and road: approximately 5 hours 30 to 6 hours, 230 km.

We travel along the coastal track throughout our journey, with views of a landscape of spiny bush and arid savanna where the baobab reigns supreme.

Picnic lunch during the journey from Ifaty to Andavadoaka.

We reach the small village of Andavadoaka: the lagoon is splendid, we are in one of the most beautiful places in Madagascar, where the landscapes are of incomparable purity.

Today, we leave the inland regions to head towards the sea. National Road 7 descends to the southwest, through increasingly dry savanna.

Along the way, we cross the Ilakaka region, where the discovery of sapphires in the late 1990s gave birth to a town in just a few months. Further on, the savanna is dotted with large tombs, sometimes adorned with zebu horns and carved posts, which bear witness to ancestor worship in the South. Then the first baobabs appear and the thorny forest, a sign that the coast is approaching.

We arrive in Tuléar in the early afternoon, time for a stop on the waterfront. The city is the great gateway to the Southwest, and its port sees pirogues and dhows from all along the coast pass through.

We continue north along the coastal road to Ifaty, a string of Vezo fishing villages settled on the edge of a lagoon protected by a coral reef. The Vezo, a people of the sea, live from pirogue fishing with outriggers, and their square sails return to the village at the end of the day.

We arrive in the late afternoon, just in time to see the sun set over the Mozambique Channel.

Night in Ifaty, by the lagoon.

Route: approximately 6 hours 30 minutes, 300 km.

Continuation on a smoother track heading due West towards Manja, renowned for its production of rice and beans.

Night in a basic bush hotel with simple amenities.

Early in the morning, when the light is soft and birds are active, we set off on foot to visit the Reniala reserve, accompanied by a local naturalist guide. The reserve protects a section of the southern Madagascar thorn forest, one of the world's most singular ecosystems, unique to this arid region.

The vegetation there is extraordinary: baobabs with sculptural forms, some several centuries old, didiereaceae with formidable spines, pachypodiums and candlestick euphorbias. The guide also shows us the medicinal plants that villagers still use, and introduces us to the forest birds, some of which live only here.

We then leave Ifaty heading north, along the coastal track. It crosses a landscape of dunes and thorn forest bordering the Mozambique Channel, and passes fishing villages where pirogues are lined up on the sand. The contrast between the blue of the sea and the grey-green of the thorn forest is striking. The sandy track sometimes requires us to slow down, and our driver-guide adjusts the pace accordingly.

We arrive in Salary in the afternoon. The place is a small preserved corner, set on the edge of a lagoon with crystal-clear waters, protected by a coral barrier, with a long white sand beach and a few Vezo villages. The calm here is total, far from everything.

We settle in for two nights. Dinner at the hotel.

Walk at Reniala: approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. Track: approximately 4 hours, 110 km.

We are heading to Morondava, the small town along the shores of the Mozambique Channel in the central west. Then, Kirindy, 65km north of Morondava in the heart of the Menabe region, on the road towards Bekopaka and the Tsingy de Bemaraha.

After breakfast, we continue north along the coastal track. It runs along the coast, between the sea and the thorn forest, and crosses fishing villages where outrigger canoes are lined up on the sand.

The landscape changes gradually. The thorn forest becomes denser, with its didiereaceae, these spiny plants unique to southern Madagascar, its euphorbias and its baobabs. Further north, Assassins' Bay cuts into the coastline in a wide indentation bordered by mangroves.

We make a few stops along the way, to walk on a deserted beach or greet a village. Encounters are simple and warm, and children often run to see the vehicle pass by.

We arrive in Andavadoaka in early afternoon. This Vezo fishing village is located north of Assassins' Bay, in a remarkable setting: a bay with turquoise waters, white sand beaches, small islands and a coral reef that protects the lagoon.

For several years, the villages in this region have managed part of their fishing zones themselves, with temporary closures that allow octopus and reefs to regenerate. It is one of the most cited examples of local ocean management in Madagascar.

After the large Salary lagoon, Andavadoaka Bay offers another face of this coast. We stay here for two nights. Dinner at the hotel.

Track: approximately 3 hours, 95 km.

After breakfast, we resume the track heading west to reach the sea.

The track crosses savanna countryside and dry forests, where large baobabs become increasingly numerous. Depending on the season, we must cross a few rivers by ford and sandy passages. Sakalava villages dot the route, with their wooden and leaf houses, their granaries and their herds of zebu cattle.

Gradually, the air becomes more humid, the vegetation changes, and mangrove appears. We arrive in Belo-sur-Mer in early afternoon.

This Vezo fishing village is situated on the edge of the Mozambique Channel, between a lagoon, mangrove and white sand beaches. It is known throughout the island for its shipwrights, who still build by hand, on the beach, large wooden dhows, using techniques passed down from generation to generation.

The village lives to the rhythm of the sea: outrigger canoes leave at dawn and return at the end of the day, loaded with fish and octopus. Further on, salt marshes extend behind the beach.

The rest of the day is free to settle in and walk on the beach. We stay two nights in Belo-sur-Mer, to take time in this timeless village. Dinner at the hotel.

Track: approximately 4 hours, 100 km.

According to the flight schedule to the capital, we take a short city tour and transfer to the airport to take the flight between Morondava and Antananarivo.

Upon your arrival at Ivato airport in Antananarivo, a member of the Détours team welcomes you at the airport.

Transfer to your hotel for the night before continuing this beautiful journey.

We leave early this morning to reach Bekopaka and the Tsingy de Bemaraha massif.

The track heads north, through savanna, rice fields and forests of baobabs and palm trees. Several stops allow us to stretch our legs and discover Sakalava villages. We cross the Tsiribihina by ferry at Belo-sur-Tsiribihina. It is often the longest moment of the day, but also one of the liveliest. Then the track continues to the Manambolo ferry, which marks arrival at Bekopaka.

The village sits on the riverside, facing the first limestone cliffs of the massif, listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. We settle in for two nights.

In the afternoon, depending on arrival time and river level, our guide takes us into the Manambolo gorges by pirogue, or into the Petits Tsingy on foot. In the gorges, the river has carved the plateau into a narrow canyon with vertical walls, where caves open out. In the Petits Tsingy, the path winds between limestone blocks, passes through narrow crevices and climbs to viewpoints over the forest and stone needles.

The name Tsingy comes from a word that evokes the idea of walking on tiptoes. The dry forest growing between the blocks is home to lemurs, birds and chameleons, which our guide helps us spot.

Night in Bekopaka.

Track: approximately 5 to 6 hours, 155 km, with two ferry crossings. Afternoon visit: approximately 2 to 3 hours.