RAID ADVENTURE

Arrival in the capital according to the flight schedule.

Management of airport formalities, reception and transfer to the hotel.

Overnight in the hotel.

390 km : full day drive

Breakfast. Departure for Antsirabe passing through Ambatolampy, crossing landscapes and small traditional villages of the Merina ethnic group, made of red brick houses. Arrival in Ambatolampy, stop at a craft workshop of pots and pans with family management. Continuation for Miandrivazo which in Malagasy means «Place of waiting for a wife». According to legend, King Radama I waited in vain for his wife (daughter of the king of Sakalava) along the banks of the Tsiribihina River.

Arrival in Miandrivazo towards the end of the afternoon.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Miandrivazo – Masiakampy (pier): 30km – approximately 1 hour of runway
Masiakampy – Nosy Ampela: Half Day

Breakfast and transfer to the pier of Masiakampy. Start of the descent of the river Tsiribihina by boat, contemplating the basalt rocks, waterbirds through the plain of Menabe. You will spend the night on the sandbank of the village of Nosy Ampela (night possibly to be expected in Begidro to know only on site).

Full board accommodation on board by the river.

BIVOUAC

about 5 hours

In the morning, continue the descent of the river Tsiribihina with stop at the waterfall and the natural pool for a possible swim (swimming depends on the water level formed by the waterfall itself). Then visit the typical Sakalava village of Begidro with its tobacco plantations and their work. You can admire baobabs, two-tone pachypodiums that constitute the local flora. The forest is populated by various species of lemurs such as the lemur «propithecus verauxi», and the lemur fulvus rufus.

Full board accommodation on board by the river.

BIVOUAC

Berevo – Belo Sur Tsiribihina : Half a Day

Belo Sur Tsiribihina – Bekopaka: km 110 – approximately 4 hours of runway

Early morning excursion to the village of Berevo. End of the tour around noon.

Lunch on board and transfer by off-road 4×4 from Belo Tsiribihina to Bekopaka and we advance on track through the bush shrub. Arrival at the riverside village of Manambolo. Bekopaka is the southern gate of the Tsingy reserve of Bemaraha.

Arrival and accommodation at the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast, we go by canoe for the excursion to the gorges of the river Manambolo. In the afternoon, we leave for the exploration of the labyrinths of the Little Tsingy of Bemaraha, rock formations and pinnacles that have constituted a real impassable barrier, thanks to which the primordial habitat has remained almost unchanged over the millennia. Exploration of the primary forest inhabited by Sifaka and Fulvus Rufus.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Which requires a good physical shape and without problem of vertigo

Morning departure by 4×4 to explore the labyrinths of the Tsingy of Bemahara, which will make you walk in limestone cathedrals to reach the small belvederes that dominate the karst peaks high from 20 to 30 meters and in beautiful caves.

The fauna is composed of different species of lemurs and birds.

The flora varies from very dry on limestone slabs to wet in canyons with 86% endemism. The view of the summit of Tsingy is breathtaking if you do not have vertigo.  Classified “World Heritage” by UNESCO, the Tsingy de Bemaraha are certainly one of the most attractive protected areas in Madagascar. The limestone massif of karst origin is similar to that of Ankarana. In Bemaraha, erosion has dug deep vertiginous gorges, creating a series of fantastic labyrinths, crevices and underground caves.  This mineral paradise offers an astonishing diversity of fauna and flora. More than 85% of plants are endemic to Madagascar. Here, crocodiles, lemurs, birds will be at the rendezvous with nature lovers. Traditionally, the Tsingy serve as a refuge and necropolis for the inhabitants of the region. Remains of graves of the Vazimba, the first inhabitants of Madagascar, have recently been discovered. The circuits for the views in the park meander through the heart of the park itself. South of the park, around Morondava, you can admire the great “Adansonia grandidieri”, which majestically follow the famous avenue of baobabs. During the tour we will walk through limestone cathedrals, to reach the small lookouts, which surmount a forest of arrows from 10 to 20m high, and beautiful caves.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

220 Km : one day course (track)

Departure for Morondava via the Sakalava tombs characterized by erotic statuettes and traveling through the territory of the “Adansonia grandidieri” and baobabs, one of the main natural wonders of the West.
A few kilometers before arriving in Morondava, we discover the two intertwined Baobabs, the “Baobabs lovers” and the famous “Baobabs Route”.
Arrival in Morondava, hotel accommodation with dinner and overnight.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

510 Km : a day trip

Breakfast and return to Antsirabe with arrival late afternoon.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Km 170 : about 5 hours’ drive

Breakfast and return to Antananarivo.

Arrival and departure for the visit of Antananarivo, whose original name was Analamanga (blue forest) is also commonly called “The city of the Thousand”, name attributed after the conquest and defense of a thousand warriors. Founded in the early seventeenth century, and inhabited by Etnia Merina, which in Malagasy means “those who live on the highlands” is arranged on 12 sacred hills, at a height between 1200 meters. and 1,500 metres. The visit of this capital will lead us to admire from the outside the Palace of the Queen “Rova” (closed every Tuesday) the great boulevard of the Independence “the esplanade of Analakely” with its typical railway station of the time.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Transfer in time according to the flight schedule to take the return flight.