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

Preview:

Flight to Antananarivo,

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

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

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

After breakfast, we start gently our equestrian expedition 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 Réunion families in the 1950s. To enjoy the sunset with the typical lights of the country. Downstream from the Lilly river.

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

Nevertheless, the deterioration of the roads could force us to move the horse camp to the edge of the national road. The riders return to Faka Ranch with a car transfer.

After a first night under the tent on the banks of the Lily River, we cross it to continue on horseback along trails of black volcanic stones.

The cone of the Kasigy volcano, of strombolian type, dominates the surroundings. Like a huge checkerboard, it is covered with rectangles of crops starting from its base to the lips of the crater.

We ride alongside a crater lake and then descend towards the beautiful Lake Mananasy.

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

We reach the camp where we leave our mounts for the night.

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

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 remnants of the old National Road that skirts the lake to the South and East.

Part of the afternoon, our horses have fun following the meanders of this road that runs along the lake amid 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 good cold beer from the bottle, leaning against your horse, we rejoin our camp located on the edge of the magnificent Amparihikely lake.

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

Finally, this famous Lake Itasy up close today, along a beautiful bridle path along the North shore.

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

In the afternoon, we will go for 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 large agricultural plain and the banks of the Lily River.

Two beautiful waterfalls break the tranquil course flowing from the main lake of Itasy.
The attraction of the place, children assail us like flocks of sparrows to sell objects carved from pumice stone.

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

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

We enjoy the delights of this natural thermal break and iron-rich water pool.

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

Under the arid heat of the Middle West, we discover the magnificent Andranomenabe Lake where wild ducks (pink-billed or teal) bask sheltered from predators, sublime gallop around the lake. Let us observe the Ifanja rice plain and its more than 3000 hectares of rice fields before returning to the geysers.

We gradually return to Ampefy after discovering the Devil's Cauldron. This true curiosity of the Mazy River where the river bed has carved its path through the rocks.

We end our horseback journey in the Mid-West and the Itasy region.

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

Mid-afternoon, we return to our vehicles to resume our journey towards Tana. We will be back in the Malagasy capital by the end of the day.

Day dedicated to visiting the city and the craft market on Digue Road.

Evening transfer to the airport, assistance with boarding on the international flight.

End of our services, misaotra and see you soon.