Essentials of the West and the Tsingy of Bemaraha

According to the flight schedule between Antananarivo and Morondava, the airport transfer is planned from your hotel/home.

Our team will welcome you upon your arrival at Morondava airport. Transfer to the hotel and rest of the day at leisure.

Early in the morning, we head towards Belo sur Tsiribihina in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The dusty track winds through the dry forests of western Madagascar, dotted with baobabs. Numerous villages, markets, and people are encountered along the way; the meetings are frequent and the exchanges enriching.

Almost at the end of the morning’s journey, we discover the first village in the Central West of the Menabe region: Tsimafana. This is the boarding point to take the first ferry and discover the rich lands of the Tsiribihina River, a journey punctuated by groups of birds. We reach the town of Belo sur Tsiribihina and have lunch there. We highly recommend the local restaurant Mad Zébu, of astonishing quality, which will delight even the most discerning gourmets.

To reach the entrance to Bekopaka, we take the second ferry on the Manambolo River. The beauty of the landscape is so breathtaking that it could make us linger longer on this river and stop time altogether. High, steep cliffs surround us, and this intoxicating discovery, these magnificent landscapes, and the unique feeling of venturing into such vastness are worth the journey in themselves.

We arrive in Bekopaka at the end of the day, at the foot of the Tsingy de Bemaraha Massif, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.
Check-in at the hotel.

Morning dedicated to discovering the Tsingy Bemaraha. Before starting the visit of the Small Tsingy, we descend the Manambolo River in a traditional canoe.

We gradually enter caves to see these unique formations found nowhere else in the world. Step by step, we make our way through the labyrinths of limestone rocks. If you are lucky, you may spot some of their small inhabitants: the famous lemurs.

We set out to explore the vast expanses of the Great Tsingy of Bemaraha. The route begins with a 4x4 transfer 17 km north of the village of Bekopaka to reach gigantic limestone cathedrals, dense networks of faults, deep crevices, and limestone blocks carved into blades or sharp points that form the “Tsingy.” Through canyons with lush vegetation, dry areas on limestone slabs, labyrinths, and fissures, we will arrive at the Roof of the “Tsingy”.

Return to the village at the end of the day.

Early in the morning, we head towards Morondava in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Despite the condition of the track, we will relive with nostalgia the intoxicating discovery of the high, steep cliffs and the magnificent landscapes. That unique feeling of grasping the immensity returns once again.

First ferry crossing on the Manambolo River to reach Belo by late morning. We have lunch there, then continue with the picturesque crossing of the Tsiribihina River by ferry. We pass through the famous Avenue of the Baobabs. We will be eager to take the red dirt track to get there in time, to photograph and capture the magnificent sunset that casts its orange glow over the baobabs.

Arrival in the evening in Morondava.

Drive to Antsirabe. Rice fields stretch out along our route. After passing through the small town of Mahabo, the landscape becomes harsher until Miandrivazo. We stop to visit markets in the villages we pass through. Gradually, the arid scenery of the mid-west and the “bald” mountains carved by erosion from the Bongolava Massif give way to a patchwork of terraced rice paddies and varied crops, with hills topped by the red-brick houses of the Central Highlands.

Arrival in Antsirabe at the end of the day.