Trek in Terra Incognita, the Vavavato

We take the beautiful road heading west. We cross the typical villages of the Highlands and, gradually, large volcanic cones appear. On the shores of Lake Itasy, we settle in the small town of Ampefy. After lunch, we take the time to discover and soak in the very peaceful atmosphere of this little-traveled region.

Traveling along the most beautiful mountain road in Madagascar from Ampefy, we reach the small town of Faratsiho. This village and its surroundings offer us the most beautiful mountain landscapes and the highest altitude on the entire large island: we are in the heart of the Ankaratra Massif.

On foot, we begin our approach from this village of Faratsiho. Here, passable roads do not exist.
Off the beaten path, we carve our way through an area of high relief, near the Bongolava Massif. The villagers are mainly potato farmers. The mountainous landscapes that cut across the horizon, the valleys, the agricultural plains typical of the west of Ankaratra are reliable landmarks: we are indeed on the Highlands of Madagascar.
First night in bivouac on the balconies of Ankaratra, a high-altitude meadow from which a majestic view of the mountains opens up to us, with peaks that can be engulfed by clouds.
Bivouac at 1,750 meters

We venture into the rock chaos. Through a succession of granite ridge lines and valleys that may hide relict forests, our journey southward is varied and interesting. The little-frequented trails allow the inhabitants of these high regions to connect their isolated dwellings. Here, and as we will see throughout our trek on foot, lakes are very present. They are used, in a traditional manner, for fish conservation during the dry season, evolving in the rice paddies. Rice-fish farming is the main means of subsistence for the people who live there. We find tilapia, carp and Malagasy black bass.

The habitat itself is also very singular and contrasts sharply with that of the Highlands. Houses or small hamlets are distant from one another, families live in isolation. Here, no defensive ditches, no protective walls surround these dwellings, as if the citadel were self-sufficient.

We now trek at the base of an immense conical mountain. It dominates the surrounding mountains by its power and also by its nature. At the heart of the granite, a volcano pierced through and dominates the region by its dark mass. Vohitany is our objective for the end of the day. From the summit, the panorama is grandiose and embraces the entire region of the Highlands, towards the west Bongolava and, in the distance, the limestone sedimentary cliffs. From a 360° perspective, starting from the north we find Ankaratra and the region of Imerina, Vakinankaratra; at our feet the two branches of these mysterious mountain ranges and the region of Mount Ibity; the birth of Bongolava to the south, the sedimentary plateaus of Bemaraha to the west in the background, then the volcanoes of the Itasy region… magnificent.

Our bivouac is established on the shore of a high-altitude lake. Mountain atmosphere guaranteed

In the cool morning air, we set off on foot into the great rocky ridges that dominate the bivouac. The progression takes place off-trail to reach lovely peaks, allowing us to discover the composition of this mountain range. The highest point of the "mony mainty" stands before us, like a beautiful call to climb it. During this trekking, the average altitude of our progression is around 2000 m., it is cool, almost cold, despite everything the southern sun remains burning.

At midday, we emerge into the central valley at the heart of the mountains. The places are inhabited, small hamlets are scattered here and there. We head towards a beautiful line of mountains by crossing the entire high-altitude valley.

The people here almost never descend into the valleys of the Highlands. Custodians of ancient animistic cults and traditional Malagasy traditions, they are known only by a few scholars, astrologers and traditional practitioners. This region is filled with mysteries, and it is precisely for this reason that we became passionate about this region; where only the curious and attentive hiker can venture, and appreciate the places at their true value.

The settlement would be, according to insiders, mainly composed of a group from India established on the Highlands, between Ankaratra and Vakinankaratra, well before the Merina expansion. This expansion would have pushed them into the heights of Vavavato, a mountain very little known to Malagasy people. The women remain in the mountains, the groups live in self-sufficiency.

An exciting thing is that we sought documentation, works that might have been carried out about these mountains… Nothing, just a simple mention in a French army document dating from 1914…

Since entering the massif, we encounter herds of bovines that are equally singular... We go from discovery to discovery: these are "vabus"! A hybrid between zebu and cattle, sturdy like a zebu but without a hump. The herds are large, and among the vabus roam enormous pigs going about their business all day long, among these humpless zebus. The herds are watched over by shepherds identifiable by the sound of their flutes, enchanting melodies rising from the rocky chaos.

The western chain of Vavavato granites stretches toward the Betafo region. Summits rise up and offer us all the opportunities to reach them. Of course, we are not talking about mountaineering but beautiful hiking trails.

At the end of the day we access a surprising region dotted with a multitude of lakes, relatively flat high-altitude meadows, with very present rocky outcrops. Walking through these places, all we would need are a few yaks and we would be on the High Plateaus of Spiti in northern India, on the foothills of Tibet.

On a soft meadow, we set up our camp for another night at altitude under the starry sky.

Suddenly, we reach the southern edge of the Mony Mainty. Through a narrow valley dotted with stepped lakes, we rapidly lose altitude and leave the granite behind to reach, without transition, the volcanoes. The scenery changes completely. Nature is systematically cultivated by people, the hillsides and valley floors are farmed, shaped and developed.

The beauty of the rice paddies in the Betafo region is extraordinary. From the wild and preserved nature of the Vavavato, we pass abruptly to a controlled nature, a striking transition that gives food for thought. On the outskirts of Betafo, human settlement is significant and villages dot the hills between the volcanoes, the wide valleys are entirely dedicated to rice paddies. We reach the town of Betafo at midday, leaving behind us, regretfully, the mysteries of the Mony Mainty.

A short tour of the city and visit to local craftspeople (miniature bicycles and cars, zebu horn work…) then drive to Ambatolampy.
Rice fields and villages characteristic of the Highlands shape the landscape.
In Ambatolampy we make a stop to discover this very lively town on the RN7.
Continuing in the afternoon towards Antananarivo.