Trekking in the Highlands

Early in the morning, gathering of travelers and meeting with the guide.
We head south.

We cross the characteristic landscapes of the Highlands by taking a winding road bordered by a mosaic of fields with various crops and terraced rice paddies.

Several stops along the way to discover the villages along National Route 7.

Lunch during the journey at your own expense.

We continue our journey to Manandona, located 25km further south, on the foothills of Mont Ibity. We settle into a rural guesthouse, managed by a local community where the inhabitants welcome us warmly.

Basic comfort, outdoor sanitation facilities and bucket shower.

Through a landscape of hills and ridgelines, from village to village, often perched on mountainsides, our hike takes us into the foothills of the Mont Ibity, culminating at over 2,250m.

We spend time with the villagers, silk worm breeders, blacksmiths, rice farmers… most welcoming us with their spontaneous smiles and natural kindness.

We have lunch at the heights with an unobstructed panoramic view over the entire region. Through beautiful pine forests, we make our way back down to the guesthouse at the end of the day.

Dinner and overnight stay with our hosts. We will spend an evening of exchanges with the farmers accompanied by a memorable musical and cultural performance.

Early departure to rejoin the RN7. On the way, visit the city of Ambositra to discover wood craftsmanship.

Continue towards Fianarantsoa for a lunch stop.

Arrival in Ambalavao, one of the most beautiful Malagasy villages, specialized in the traditional craftsmanship of Antemoro paper.

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 encounter them again the next morning before our departure. The Anja reserve is managed directly by the villagers. The profits enable the improvement of living conditions in the surrounding villages.

We meet the local team of guides and porters, who will be our travel companions for the next 5 days.

Our journey begins from the Anja Village Reserve, a site managed by the village community, which is home to small colonies of these ring-tailed lemurs, the ring-tailed lemurs.

A day of hiking through the Betsileo landscapes. The scenery is dominated by agriculture and livestock. We walk along the paths of zebu herds, until we reach the shepherd village of Manampotsy. We set up our first camp not far from the town, on the following hill.

For our second day, we hike through a landscape dominated by large granite massifs. In a desert setting, we find a whole range of succulent plants such as Kalanchoes, Aloes and Pachypodiums, accompanied by small forests nestled in the valley bottoms.

In the distance, the highest peaks of Andringitra appear. At the end of the day, we arrive at Belambo camp. We are now in Andringitra National Park.

Setting up our camp for the night.

On the third day, we depart early in the morning to reach Andriampotsy, located at 2,000 m altitude. This will be the starting point for our hike the next day, towards Madagascar's 2nd highest peak: the Pic Boby, culminating at 2,658 m.

The landscapes here are lunar, the Malagasy people call this place "the Plateau of Extra-terrestrials". A small detour to admire more closely the two Sacred Waterfalls: Riambavy (female waterfall) and Riandahy (male waterfall), passing through the Jajofo Cave.

We set up our camp at Andriampotsy, at 2,050m altitude, ready for our ascent of the Pic d'Imarivolanitra the next day.

Early in the morning, we head towards the 2nd highest peak in Madagascar, the Pic Bobyor Imarivolanitra, reaching an altitude of 2,658 m.

This beautiful hike takes place on a well-maintained trail. We start very early to enjoy the view from the summit. If the sky is clear enough, we can even see the East coast.

We retrace our steps to the Andriampotsy bivouac site. We find ourselves back on the surreal lunar plateau which deserves the nickname of "extraterrestrial" as the erosions are so phantasmagorical. We then cross the palm forest of Ravenea glauca, endemic to this region, until we reach our bivouac site at Iantaranomby, on the banks of a beautiful river where we can cool off.

On the fifth day, our hike takes us to the heart of Tsaranoro Valley, where we arrive late in the morning. This superb valley is dominated by immense cliffs, highly prized by climbing enthusiasts. We encounter Lemur Catta again here, living in the preserved forest areas. The valley is alive, and the villages scattered throughout it are magnificent. The simplicity and warmth of the people who inhabit them create a phantasmagorical atmosphere to the places, which we will be able to explore in the afternoon.

Early in the morning we head to the Canyon of the Lemurs, the beginning of our hike accompanied by our guide to discover this ruiniform sandstone massif very different from Andringitra.

We start with the canyon forests and then head up to the plateau carved by erosion, where a beautiful day of hiking awaits us. This sandstone massif has been shaped since the Jurassic into strange ruiniform shapes.
These lands belong to the Bara people, an ethnic group from the South.
Our hiking itinerary will take us to the place called "the natural pool". After the heat of the day, a swim in the pool is most welcome.

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

First glimpse of 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.

Visit to Tuléar. Road in early afternoon to Ifaty, about thirty kilometers north of Tuléar, to reach the land of the Vezo fishermen.

Free time before transfer to Tuléar airport.
Flight to Antananarivo (1h), welcome on arrival in Antananarivo and transfer to your accommodation in Tana.

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